E-health is growing more pervasive among—and more relevant to—physicians and patients alike.  – Billy Florence
Long after the first e bubble, physicians continue to move online and to report that the information they find on line influences their real-world medical decisions in significant ways. More physicians than ever before are adopting online tools to deliver patient care.

Similarly, the Internet’s reach has expanded, and its call to action has increased, among the overall patient population. E-health has advanced and accelerated the movement initiated by direct-to-consumer drug advertising: the migration of patients toward more active engagement in their care.
The Internet continues to have a major impact on physicians in the United States.

• Physicians continue to spend about three hours a week online for professional reasons. Latest data show that they spend more than half of that time on the Internet at home, where they are free from the distractions of the office and are otherwise unreachable. Once online, the vast majority of doctors continue to use the Internet to augment their clinical knowledge. Most physicians online also say that the information they find on the Internet has an impact on their knowledge about symptoms, treatments, and possible diagnoses.
• Around three-quarters continue to report that the information they find online has an impact on their prescription decisions.
• Physicians have begun to use the Internet in more discerning ways—engaging in more interactive activities, adding more types of websites to their repertoire, and referring patients to websites.
• Electronic prescribing, electronic medical records, and remote disease monitoring are garnering wider audiences as obstacles to the adoption of these tools are overcome.
• Overall, doctors are turning to patient-care tools because they deliver on the two dimensions most important to them: enhanced quality of care and improved efficiency.
• Of the one-quarter of doctors who communicate with patients online, most do so only with the handful who request this method of consultation.
• Doctors are not alone online: About 80 percent of all patients surveyed now search the Internet for information about health-related topics.

Study Information: Harris Interactive surveyed 400 physicians and 10,000 patients for their second Vital Signs survey. 

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