E-Patient

e-Patients (also known as Internet Patient, or Internet-savvy Patient) represent the new breed of informed health consumers, using the Internet to gather information about a medical condition of particular interest to them. The term encompasses both those who seek online guidance for their own ailments and the friends and family members (e-Caregivers) who go online on their behalf. e-Patients report two effects of their online health research—"better health information and services, and different (but not always better) relationships with their doctors."

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Based on the current state of knowledge on the impact of e-Patients on the healthcare system and the quality of care received:

• since the advent of the Internet many clinicians have underestimated the benefits and overestimated the risks of online health resources for patients
• medical online support groups have become an important healthcare resource
• the net friendliness of clinicians and provider organizations—as rated by the e-patients they serve—is becoming an important new aspect of healthcare quality.
• this is one the most important cultural medical revolution of the past century, mediated and driven by technology.
• the impact of the e-Patient cannot be fully understood and appreciated in the context of pre-internet medical constructs. Research must combine expertise from specialties that are not used to work together.

Recent research about statistical data on e-Patients shows that the proportion of e-Patients in selected patient populations seem to be highest in the US and Canada. European countries seem to lag.

See also

• Virtual Patients

References

• Ferguson, Tom; Frydman, Gilles (May 15, 2004). "The first generation of e-Patients (Editorial)" (Full Text). BMJ 328: 1148-1149. doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7449.1148.
• Dan Hoch; Tom Ferguson (August 2005). "What I've Learned from E-Patients". PLoS medicine 2 (8). doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0020206. PMID 16060721. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
• Cees MJ van Woerkum (01 Apr 2003). "The Internet and primary care physicians: coping with different expectations". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 77 (4). Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
• Podiatry Online: Accommodating the Internet-Savvy Patient
• Susannah Fox, Pew Internet & American Life Project (9/27/2004). Today’s E-Patients: Hunters and Gatherers of Health Information Online.