Journal of medical Internet research
-
J. Med. Internet Res. · Jul 2003
A Web-based screening instrument for depression and anxiety disorders in primary care.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders are common and result in considerable suffering and economic loss. People suffering from major depressive disorder and/or anxiety disorders are commonly encountered in the primary care setting. Unfortunately, most people with these disorders remain either untreated or inadequately treated; current data suggest that general practitioners fail to diagnose up to half of cases of major depressive disorder or anxiety. There is a need for screening tools that will help physicians and other professionals in primary care recognize and adequately treat major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders. While the currently-available self-report screening instruments have been demonstrated to be reliable and valid, there remain considerable barriers to their widespread use in primary care. ⋯ These preliminary data suggest that the Web-Based Depression and Anxiety Test is reliable for identifying patients with and without major depressive disorder and the anxiety disorders of panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, social phobia/social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder. Further research is required in a larger sample in primary care.
-
J. Med. Internet Res. · Jul 2003
The impact of health information on the Internet on health care and the physician-patient relationship: national U.S. survey among 1.050 U.S. physicians.
Public use of the Internet for health information is increasing but its effect on health care is unclear. We studied physicians' experience of patients looking for health information on the Internet and their perceptions of the impact of this information on the physician-patient relationship, health care, and workload. ⋯ The quality of information on the Internet is paramount: accurate relevant information is beneficial, while inaccurate information is harmful. Physicians appear to acquiesce to clinically-inappropriate requests generated by information from the Internet, either for fear of damaging the physician-patient relationship or because of the negative effect on time efficiency of not doing so. A minority of physicians feels challenged by patients bringing health information to the visit; reasons for this require further research.
-
J. Med. Internet Res. · Jul 2003
Use and utility of Web-based residency program information: a survey of residency applicants.
The Internet has become essential to the residency application process. In recent years, applicants and residency programs have used the Internet-based tools of the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP, the Match) and the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) to process and manage application and Match information. In addition, many residency programs have moved their recruitment information from printed brochures to Web sites. Despite this change, little is known about how applicants use residency program Web sites and what constitutes optimal residency Web site content, information that is critical to developing and maintaining such sites. ⋯ Applicants are turning to residency Web sites for information during critical phases of the application process. Though usually helpful, many of these sites are felt to be incomplete and may not be meeting important applicant information needs. These findings should be useful to those involved in residency recruitment efforts and in counseling applicants.
-
J. Med. Internet Res. · Apr 2003
Doctors who are using e-mail with their patients: a qualitative exploration.
Despite the potential for rapid, asynchronous, documentable communication, the use of e-mail for physician-patient communication has not been widely adopted. ⋯ These physician respondents did perceive benefits to e-mail with a select group of patients. Several areas, such as identifying clinical situations where e-mail communication is effective, incorporating e-mail into office flow, and being reimbursed for online medical care/communication, need to be addressed before this mode of communication diffuses into most practices.
-
J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2003
Use of the Internet in scanning the horizon for new and emerging health technologies: a survey of agencies involved in horizon scanning.
A number of countries worldwide have structured horizon scanning systems which provide timely information on the impact of new health technologies to decision makers in health care. In general, the agencies that are responsible for horizon scanning have limited resources in terms of budget and staff. In contrast, the number of new and emerging health technologies, i.e. pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and medical and surgical procedures, is growing rapidly. This requires the Horizon Scanning Systems (HSSs) to devise efficient procedures for identification of new health technologies. The role of the Internet for this purpose has as yet not been documented. ⋯ The use of the Internet for identifying new health technologies is increasing in the majority of horizon scanning systems around the world. At the same time there is considerable variation between individual agencies in their approach to this source of information. This can only be partially explained by differences in scope of scanning activities of the individual agencies. A coordinated effort to develop Internet search strategies for either different categories of health technologies or different clinical specialties may improve efficiency and quality of scanning in terms of the number of potentially relevant technologies identified.