Internet use by orthopaedic outpatients - current trends and practices

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Education
• Digital Health

Background:

• The rise of the e-patient empowers individuals to self-diagnose and self-educate, impacting healthcare decisions.
• The internet's variable and often unreliable information quality presents challenges for patients and healthcare providers.
• Understanding patient internet usage is crucial in the digital health era.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify current internet usage patterns among patients in outpatient orthopaedic clinics.
• To compare internet utilization in both public and private healthcare settings.
• To assess how patients use online resources for their orthopaedic conditions and surgeon research.

Main Methods:

• A 29-question survey was administered to patients in public and private orthopaedic outpatient clinics.
• Data collected included patient demographics, general internet use, and specific online research related to orthopaedic conditions.
• A total of 400 surveys were completed, with 200 from each cohort (public and private).

Main Results:

• 79% of surveyed patients reported having internet access.
• 65.2% of those with internet access used it to research their orthopaedic condition.
• 29.6% discussed internet-found information with their surgeon, and 36.1% researched their surgeon online.

Conclusions:

• Patients actively use the internet as a primary source of health information, even with concerns about data quality.
• There is a clear need for reliable, patient-friendly online resources that align with current clinical practice standards.
• Healthcare providers should be prepared to address patient-sourced internet information during consultations.