[Internet use to obtain health information among patients attending a digestive diseases office]

The use of the Internet to gain health information has increased in Spain. This is changing the way patients access medical information and, in turn, the physician-patient relationship.

To analyze the use of the Internet for medical purposes by patients attending a digestive diseases office and to determine the profile of patients seeking this information.

A questionnaire was administered to consecutive patients attending a general digestive diseases office for the first time.

Four hundred twenty-three patients completed the questionnaire (56% women, 44% men, mean age 42.63 [15.994] years). A total of 2.4% had only not completed basic education, 14% had completed basic education, 32.8% had completed high school, 50.6% had university degrees, and 0.2% did not answer. More than three-quarters (76.4%) had a computer at home and 72% had internet access. Forty-two percent looked for health information on the internet. Seventeen percent had searched for specific information on their illnesses before consulting and 66% believed the internet is a good resource for obtaining medical information. Seventy percent would be interested in a specific web page on digestive disease topics and 75% would use e-mail to consult with their physicians. The group that most frequently looked for medical information consisted of patients aged 45 years or younger with secondary school or university education.

In our environment, patients with digestive diseases routinely use the Internet to search for medical information. These patients have a high degree of confidence in the information obtained and would be interested in a specific website devoted to diseases of the digestive system. The patients that most frequently searched for health information were aged less than 45 years old and had secondary school education or university degrees.