Rethinking access in an information age

Medical information is part of the growing global resource that constitutes the World Wide Web. Researching health information is one of the most common reasons for using the Internet. In 1997, nearly half of U.S. users spent time looking for health information or support on the Internet. More recently, the Internet allows medically naive users to question physicians and other clinicians about health-related topics by e-mail and other digital communication methods. In the face of this growing technology, the term "access" now encompasses the availability of specialized information to the general public. This article reviews the meaning of access in terms of the growing information Movement, looks at opportunities this presents to clinicians, and analyzes barriers to widespread and appropriate information access.