More than half of Americans looked up health information on the Internet last year, U.S. government researchers reported on Tuesday. But only 5 percent used email to communicate with their doctors, the survey by the National Center for Health Statistics found.

Researcher at the center used a survey of 7,192 adults aged 18 to 64 questioned between January and June 2009. "From January through June 2009, 51 percent of adults aged 18-64 had used the Internet to look up health information during the past 12 months," the center, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.
"Among adults aged 18-64, women were more likely than men to look up health information on the Internet (58 percent versus 43 percent) and were also more likely to use online chat groups to learn about health topics (4 percent versus 2.5 percent)."

The survey found 6 percent of adults requested a refill of a prescription on the Internet, and almost 3 percent had made an appointment with a healthcare provider in the previous 12 months using the Internet. Other researchers have found doctors are reluctant to use the Internet or email to communicate with patients because of concerns about privacy as well as confusion about how to charge for their time.

WHAT THIS MAY MEAN FOR YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: The report indicated that a majority of Americans are using the Internet to seek health information. Health care providers are obviously not as enthusiastic about the technology as are their parents.

WHAT THIS MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: The Internet offers a great way for you to communicate with your health care provider. Health care providers can not only answer your questions, but also reinforce you for performing the self-management skills you use to control your chronic condition. Not using the Internet because of concerns about how to charge you, as a patient is simply inexcusable.

M Zargham (ed). More than half of Americans use Internet for health. Reuters, February 2, 2010.