Comparison of Physicians' and Patients' Perception on the Effect of Internet Health Information

Objective: To determine the differences between the patient's and physicians' views of the effects of internet health infor- mation on the physician-patient relationship. Methods: An online survey was carried out with 25 items developed by revising the questionnaire of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising to accommodate the internet health information. The respondents were 671 patients who were active participants in online patient communities and 493 physicians who were the professors of medical schools and practicing physicians. Results: Most of the patients were positive toward the Internet Health Information saying that it gives them advice from a doctor with self-confidence, allows them to follow their doctor's directions well, obtain more medical treatment after retrieving the information, etc. In contrast, physicians perceived that the internet health information may have variety of negative effects, such as increasing the healthcare cost, unnecessary clinic visits and undermining of the doctor-patient relationship. There were significant differences in the perspectives between the physicians and patients. Conclusion: It will be necessary to ensure experts provide internet health information, which will have bene- ficial effects on the quality of care, physician-patient relationship, and health service utilization. (Journal of Korean Society of Medical Informatics 15-4, 373-379, 2009)