Impressive rise in internet use by physicians

A new study released by the American Medical Association (AMA) revealed that almost half of the physicians feel that the World Wide Web (Internet) has had a major impact on the way they practice medicine. The rising influence of the Internet on clinical medicine has propelled an increase in the frequency and duration of web use among the 78% of physicians who now make use of cyberspace. The sample of physicians interviewed for the 2002 AMA Study on Physicians' Use of the World Wide Web was selected randomly from the AMA's Physician Masterfile, a comprehensive database of information on all physicians in the United States including members and non-members of the AMA. A total of 977 physicians in the US were interviewed. Specific physician patterns and habits explored by the AMA survey include: computer and web penetration, web usage, access to the web, use of the web, sites and resources used, purchasing habits on the web, prevalence of physicians websites and perceptions of the web. The newly released survey is the fourth analysis of nationwide patterns of online physicians conducted by the AMA. The findings of this survey reveal the following trends in physician web use:

• Physician use of the web is becoming more frequent. Two-thirds of online physicians access the web daily, an increase of 24% since 1997
• Physicians who use the web have extended the hours they spend online. The average number of hours a physician uses the web per week jumped from 4.3 in 1997 to 7.1 in 2001
• Additional growth can be expected in the number of hours spent on the web, with physicians indicating they expect to use the Internet an average of 9.6 hours per week during the next 6 months
• Although there is still a trend for younger physicians to use the web more than older physicians, the percentage of older physicians using the web increased rapidly from 43% in 2000 to 65% in 2001
• Approximately 3 of 10 physicians using the internet currently have a website, a proportion that has remained constant since 1999
• An examination of medical specialists who use the web reveals that website development has been most prevalent among physicians in obstetrics/gynaecology and internal medicine

The primary reasons physicians have a site on the web is to promote and advertise their practice or provide patient education and information. In 2001, the percentage of physicians using the web to advertise and promote their practice grew by 11% from the previous year. The study reveals physicians' use of the web is becoming more frequent as the number of physicians who turn to the net is definitely gaining popularity and is on the rise.