Internet is opportunity, not obstacle, for family physicians
When it comes to family physicians joining the teeming masses accessing the Internet, comments like these are usually what you'll hear:
"It's confusing."
"It's time consuming."
"It's not organized."
"I can never find what I want when I need it."
But family physicians need to know what health information is on the World Wide Web and other Internet areas. It's not just to keep up with their colleagues -- it's because patients are accessing the information on their own computers.
"FPs should be expert health information managers," said Dennis Schmuland, MD, of Redmond, WA, during an Assembly computer class on using the Internet in your practice. "Family physicians should be familiar with what information is available via computer, as well as be able to distinguish between good information and quackery."
The Internet has become a "non-stoppable consumer megatrend," said Dr. Schmuland. In 1996, for the first time commercial sites on the Web outnumbered organizational and educational sites.
"This means patients can go out there and access all kinds of information -- some good, some bad -- and then return to their family physician and ask, 'Why aren't we doing this?'" Dr. Schmuland said. "Information on the web is forever changing. It's important for us to take the time and see what's reliable and maybe steer a patient in the right direction."
So what should an FP do when a patient comes in waving a sheaf of information culled from the Internet?
"The first step is to remain calm and not feel threatened," said Dr. Schmuland. "Patients are bringing in information because they're concerned and want the best and right treatment."
Family physicians should view such meetings as an opportunity to help both themselves and their patients.
"We know that patients who accept responsibility for their own health care have better outcomes," Dr. Schmuland said. "If a patient is bringing you information from the Internet that you don't know about, then it's time for you to sit down and see what's out there."
Dr. Schmuland has opened a Web site at
http://aafp.healthknowledge.com (not a part of the AAFP Web site), complete with links for family physicians interested in health-related information.
- FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.