Hand surgery and the internet: results of a worldwide survey

The opportunities offered by the Internet are employed increasingly in medicine. To obtain data on the extent to which the Internet is used by hand surgeons, survey forms were sent to 1043 participants of the Congress of the IFSSH in Vancouver in 1998. Ninety-four per cent of the respondents use the Internet. Most of the participants use the World Wide Web for literature searches, information on events and to read scientific articles. E-mail is used for general and scientific communication with colleagues and also for transmission of patient-related data. Perceived apprehensions include secure transmission of sensitive data, slow data transmission, and the lack of structure and of an authority to control the contents of the Internet. Virtual congresses and a newsgroup on hand surgery seem to be worthwhile future goals. Some problems pointed out in this survey have already been solved, at least partially, and possible solutions for the rest are discussed.