title: Physicians' Internet activities and their perceived coping with the medical information.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe and analyze physicians' Internet activities and how this relates to their coping with medical information.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postal survey among 1276 Norwegian physicians (response rate 78%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-two percent of all physicians had access to the Internet in 1999, up from 38% in 1997. One out of two physicians use the Internet for professional purposes. Web-based search is the dominant activity and Internet use is closely related to other ways of information-seeking (reading and attending professional meetings). A total of 70% of the respondents reported ability to obtain sufficient information for keeping updated in their daily work. "Internet-active"-physicians reported a higher rate of such ability than physicians without Internet access (74% vs 65%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Internet plays an increasingly important role in physicians' professional updating. The impact of new information technology on the medical community should be carefully monitored in the future.
authors: The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association P.O. Box 1152 Sentrumon. N-0107 Oslo, Norway. magne.nylenna@legeforeningen.no
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Nylenna
authors: O G
authors: OG
authors: Aasland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010820:Physicians / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012737:Sex Factors