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Patients, E-mail, and the Internet

Arch Dermatol. 1999;135:198-199.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

ANOTHER DAY, another e-mail from a patient requesting personal advice about skin disease. Times have changed. Years ago one might have expected a boorish stranger to ask for advice at a social gathering, or an occasional letter from a prospective patient interested in specialized care. But now with e-mail, requests for information have become an everyday affair. Why has this change occurred, how should these requests be handled, and what else can be done about this need for information?

It is said that 40% of the traffic on the Internet today is in search of medical information. Whether that figure is true (I have no reference), one cannot deny the current perceived need on the part of many to access medical information through nontraditional channels. Perhaps it should come as no surprise in our era of managed care when practitioners are increasingly busy with other tasks (requesting authorization or complying . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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