Majority
from USA 54% Europe 26% Canada 5% South America 4%
Equally split between medical
professionals and non-medical
Male 49%
and
Female 51%
Respondents’
Internet profile
Majority
are experienced users
Only 6% use the Internet less than 6 months
Access
Internet daily as well as from work 68%
as from home 74%
Use Email 96%
and
browse Web sites 93%
Respondents
profile Specific to Medical domain
Majority
seek information for themselves to become
more knowledgeable
Majority search for medical literature 83% Description of disease 67% Clinical trials 38% Support groups 26%
Prefer «medical professionals sites» 71% Non-profit Web sites 39% Consumer Web sites 32% Commercial and pharm. Web sites arrive in last position
“Shortcomings”
of telehealth
Accuracy
of information 83% Trustworthiness 79% Availability of information 76% Findings
things 72% Privacy 68% Security of electronic commerce 67%
Less
critical issue facing the Internet
Commercialisation/advertising
Censorship
Government
regulation
Not adapted
to disable or impaired people
Intellectual
property/copyright
Patients
Prefer having
access to more complex information
Seek out information from medical professionals sites 77% Discuss their internet findings with their physician 64% Search for information on drug 82% Buy drugs online 14
% Use the Internet to seek 2nd opinion 43% Have used occasionally on-line medical consultation services 33% Only 14% use the email to consult with their own physician
Patients’
profile
Live
Urban 27% 60% Suburban 48% 22% Rural 25% 18%
Education
up to college graduate 79% 43% MS or + 21% 57% Female 72% 43%
Age
Up to 40 years old 22% 49%
40 to 60 years old 59% 44%
USA
Europe
Impact
of the Net on patients
Use the web
for:
USA
Europe
Searching
info on drug 86% 63%
Asking
second opinion 41% 52%
Medical
Consultation 34% 33%
Discuss
results of their Internet searches 65% 63%
It is helpful because:
They become
more knowledgeable 72% 73%
Consultation
is more constructive 61% 45%
Communication
is improved 50% 42%
Exchange email
with their own physician 12% 21%
Patients
profile
Computerised 93% 79%
Access
from work 56% 83%
from home 79% 59%
USA
Europe
Patients
Satisfaction with skills
Obstacles
to Web use Lack of time 46% 53% Dissatisfied with info quality 33% 34% Inadequate tools 19% 25% Insufficient IT training 24% 19% Search tools + Ease of use 57% 50% Relevance maches 52% 63% Speed 32% 47% Quality of description 35% 44%
USA
Europe
Medical
professionals’ profile
Medical
prof. 52% 38% 71% Medical specialty 29% 6% 50% General practice 11% 6% 14% Information provider 11% 8% Researcher 7% 5% 9% Nurse 4% 19% 3% Pharmacist 4% 2% 3% Medical/Health student 3% 2% 3% Alternative medicine 2% 3% 1%
USA
Europe
Medical
professionals’ profile 2
Medical
prof. log on the Net daily
from work 60% 79%
from home 78% 65%
USA
Europe
Medical
professionals Impact of the Net
on medical profesionals
Engage
occasionaly e-mail correspondence with
their patients 45%
Use the Web to search info on side effects and drug
interactions 86%
Impact
of the Net on medical professionals
Discuss Results
of Patients' Internet searches
It is helpful 78%
Patient becomes more knowledgeable 67%
Communication is improved 60%
It is not helpful 18%
Risk of patient self-treatment 82%
Medical
professionals Guiding patients on the Net
Recommend
more easily Web sites 71%
than Support groups 56%
or Discussion lists 28%
Medical
professionals Satisfaction with skills
Obstacles
to Web use
Lack of time 60%
Dissatisfied with info quality 26%
Inadequate tools 24%
Insufficient IT training 29%
Search tools + Ease of use 54%
Relevance maches 28%
Speed 52%
Quality of description 43%
Background
54%
60%
52%