Physician Internet Medical Information Seeking and Online Continuing Education Use Patterns. Casebeer L, Bennett N, Kristofco R, et al. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2002;22:33-43.

Nearly all physicians report access to the Internet through home or at work for personal or professional goals. It has been unclear, however, what online sources physicians find helpful for their professional development. Recently, the number of online continuing education (CE) providers has increased. This study was designed to examine the behaviors of physicians regarding their search for medical information and the relevance to continuing education providers who develop the online activities. A survey instrument of multiple-choice questions was faxed to nearly 324,000 US physicians of all specialties. A total of 2,200 survey questionnaires were returned and utilized. Demographic information such as gender, specialty, location of practice, years since graduation, and years having used the Internet were obtained. The survey included questions related to variables that physicians deemed important when seeking medical information, how frequently they accessed online CE, how frequently they utilized the Internet and whether it was for personal or professional use, and what motivated them to seek medical information on the Internet. It was determined that there are differences in Internet use by gender, location of practice, and specialty, but not with age or Internet experience since graduation. Most physicians use the Internet to supplement their traditional learning activities of reading journals and attendance at local meetings. The majority of physicians indicated that they search the Internet for specific patient management problems. The problems of using the Internet for seeking medical information include the extensive, yet nonspecific, amount of information for the topic at hand and little time to browse. Physicians indicated that online CE must be immediate, relevant, credible, and easy to use. The results of this study suggest that online CE providers reconstruct their roles by helping physicians locate, rather than develop, materials by providing links to association updates, breaking news, and specific-patient management. This new idea, however, poses difficulty for assigning CE credit. Although the Internet is an excellent way to deliver educational information, it creates a challenge for CE providers to provide credible, relevant, and accessible content.