Medical websites get thumbs down - Internet - Websites for physicians - Brief Article

Health Management Technology, Nov, 2001

Websites for physicians rate only average or below average in ease of use and overall comprehensiveness, say 101 physicians polled by Harris Interactive recently. In the study, sponsored by Merck & Co. to help gauge its own medical content website, merckmedicus.com, only 12 percent of physicians rated current Internet sites as "excellent" in providing accurate and credible medical information. The two most important attributes for physicians were accurate, credible information and easy access to specific medical information.

Respondents also rated sites on comprehensiveness, currency of information, objectivity and absence of bias (advertising). Only 37 percent gave the typical website a positive rating for ease of navigation, and 52 percent said poor navigation keeps them from using the Internet more often in their practices. Recently launched merckmedicus.com scored well; 76 percent of respondents rate it "better" or "much better" than other sites they visit.