caa a22 4500 467934509 CHVBK 20180406152953.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20061001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10900-006-9019-3 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10900-006-9019-3 Virtual Medical Care: How Are Our Patients Using Online Health Information? [Elektronische Daten] [Heather Liszka, Terrence Steyer, William Hueston] An increasing percentage of Internet users are seeking health information online. The purpose of our study was to determine the extent of Internet access and online health-seeking and the feasibility of implementing Internet services for our urban, residency-based practice. Using a self-administered survey, we obtained information on use of the Internet, demographics and socioeconomic profile, presence of a chronic medical condition and self-rated health from 300 consecutive patients. Complete surveys were obtained by 203 (68 percent). Responses were compared based on demographic, socioeconomic, and medical variables using Chi-square analysis. Results showed that our sample population tended to be under age 50, female, non-Hispanic Black, low income, and healthy. Seventy-seven percent of respondents had accessed the Internet at least once, 79 percent had used the Internet to find health-related information, 73 percent used the online information to make a health-related decision, 50 percent shared the information with their provider. In conclusion, we confirmed a high rate of Internet usage in our specific patient population, characterized by low socioeconomic status, low education level, and high minority percentages. Our patients not only access online health information, but also make changes based on this information, with only about half of all patients sharing this information with their physicians. It is unclear how this system of ‘virtual medical care' influences overall patient health. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 2006 internet nationallicence patient communication nationallicence health information nationallicence patient information nationallicence Liszka Heather Department Chair of Family Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, 295 Calhoun Street, 250192, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA aut Steyer Terrence Department Chair of Family Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, 295 Calhoun Street, 250192, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA aut Hueston William Department Chair of Family Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, 295 Calhoun Street, 250192, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA aut Journal of Community Health Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers; http://www.springer-ny.com 31/5(2006-10-01), 368-378 0094-5145 31:5<368 2006 31 10900 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-006-9019-3 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-006-9019-3 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Liszka Heather Department Chair of Family Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, 295 Calhoun Street, 250192, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Steyer Terrence Department Chair of Family Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, 295 Calhoun Street, 250192, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Hueston William Department Chair of Family Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, 295 Calhoun Street, 250192, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Community Health Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers; http://www.springer-ny.com 31/5(2006-10-01), 368-378 0094-5145 31:5<368 2006 31 10900 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer