A study of Internet use by doctors and patients in Poland

We evaluated Internet use in Poland in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. Questionnaires were sent to 33 hospital departments of obstetrics and gynaecology; 25 replied (76%). The 25 departments contained a total of 275 doctors, 70% of whom (n=193) returned the questionnaire. We also invited 3054 people visiting a gynaecological Website for patients to complete an online form; 161 replied, a response rate of 5.3%. While 84% of the 102 doctors using the Internet were satisfied with Internet medical resources, only 24% of patients were. Patients searched for medical information less frequently than professionals and were younger. About half of the doctors and patients had only modem access to the Internet. The most popular services for professionals were databases and information services; patients were most interested in information on pregnancy, contraceptives, physiology and general female health. Most of the 45% of patients who said that they did not receive sufficient information from doctors could not usually find it on the Internet either.