Which doctors use the internet?
In a unique survey published
on 27th September, the Royal Society of Medicine looks at
the way its national and international membership uses the
internet.
Among the findings:
GPs
beat gynaecologists to internet access
82% of GPs have access to the Net, compared with only 63% of
gynaecologists, while top of the league are pathologists: 97%
are online either at home or at work.
83%
of UK doctors are online, compared with 31%* of the general
population
Although the figure is high, UK members still lag behind their
US colleagues, where access to the internet is reported by
93% of RSM doctors.
* (Netvalue
figures)
WAP
phones are not used by young doctors
A large majority (68%) of doctors with WAP phones were over
fifty. None of the under-thirties owned a WAP phone.
Confidence
online decreases with age - but older doctors know their limitations
best
Perhaps not surprisingly, the older the doctor, the less likely
they are to describe themselves as "confident" online. However,
when their confidence is compared with their actual abilities
in searching for online information, the over-sixties have
the most accurate perceptions of their own abilities (90% of
over-sixties saying they are confident actually have good web
skills, compared with only 85% of those in their forties).
76%
want to learn on the internet
More than three quarters of respondents said they they would
try education online - either as one element of a traditional
conference or entirely on the web. More than half claimed they
would be interested even if they were not able to get online
accreditation.
Doctors
are confident buying online
The survey asked whether members felt concerned about credit
card security on the internet. 72% of those who responded to
the question said that they would use their card on a secure
site, although many admitted they would still have some security
worries. Only 19% (most of them over sixty) would not use their
card online.
[ends]
Notes for Editors:
The survey was conducted by the RSM's External Relations department
in collaboration with Health-Media.Net's
Medical Director, Dr Amanda Kirby. Dr Kirby is also a Fellow
of the RSM. The above points are just a sample of the data
from the survey.
