104
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares

      If you have found this article useful and you think it is important that researchers across the world have access, please consider donating, to ensure that this valuable collection remains Open Access.

      Prometheus is published by Pluto Journals, an Open Access publisher. This means that everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles from our international collection of social science journalsFurthermore Pluto Journals authors don’t pay article processing charges (APCs).

      scite_
       
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Patient Power? Medical Perspectives on Patient Use of the Internet

      Published
      research-article
      , , ,
      Prometheus
      Pluto Journals
      Ict, Internet, Psychiatrists, Clients, Consultation
      Bookmark

            Abstract

            Patients and carers now have unprecedented access to health information via specialist journals and the popular media, while the worldwide web has revolutionised public access to clinical information. Levels of patient demand for information about health have grown and there is evidence to suggest that patients wish to receive more information than is sometimes currently provided by clinicians. In secondary care, some specialisms have more readily adopted the use of information communication technologies (ICT) in clinician/patient communication than others. This paper focuses on clinicians' perceptions of client Internet use for psychiatric conditions and studies the influence this has had on the consultation process in the United Kingdom. The research method consisted of a postal questionnaire distributed to the members of the Women in Psychiatry Group on the register of the Royal College of Psychiatry. Telephone interviews were conducted, employing the critical incident method, as well as a brief additional questionnaire. The data show that psychiatrists who used the Internet discerned client usage more readily. Where the client sought to discuss information acquired electronically with the consultant this tended to extend the consultation period, but a number of psychiatrists reported a greater sense of partnership as a result. The paper explores consultant perceptions of client motivations for Internet use and the perceived advantages and disadvantages for both client and psychiatrist. Overall, the psychiatry profession appears to be following the lead of clients in the use of ICT. Policy recommendations are offered with respect to the provision of profession-validated information on the Internet and psychiatrists' training in IT.

            Content

            Author and article information

            Journal
            cpro20
            CPRO
            Prometheus
            Critical Studies in Innovation
            Pluto Journals
            0810-9028
            1470-1030
            June 2003
            : 21
            : 2
            : 145-160
            Article
            10032487 Prometheus, Vol. 21, No. 2, June 2003, pp. 145-160
            10.1080/08109020308131
            60d1cfab-f5d7-4783-9afd-8372e8e14661
            Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

            History
            Page count
            Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 45, Pages: 16
            Categories
            Original Articles

            Computer science,Arts,Social & Behavioral Sciences,Law,History,Economics
            Ict,Internet,Consultation,Psychiatrists,Clients

            References

            1. Srinivas M., Inumpudi A. and Mitra D. K.. 1998. . 'The Internet and the paediatric surgeon'. . Pediatric Surgery International . , Vol. 14((3)): 208––11. .

            2. Murphy K. R.. 1998. . 'Computer-based patient education'. . Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America . , Vol. 31((2)): 309

            3. Dinsdale P.. 1998. . 'Outpatient care on Internet'. . Hospital Doctor . , 20 August;

            4. Angaran D. M.. 1999. . 'Telemedicine and telepharmacy: current status and future implications'. . American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy . , Vol. 56((14)): 1405––26. .

            5. Bader S. A. and Braude R. M.. 1998. . 'Patient informatics: creating new partnerships in medical decision making'. . Academic Medicine . , Vol. 73((4)): 408––11. .

            6. Giedd J. N., Alien A. J. and Behr R.. 1996. . Opportunities on the Internet for child and adolescent psychopharmacologists: net access and mailing lists'. . Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology . , Vol. 6((2)): 147––50. .

            7. Harrison A.. 2002. . 'All change?'. . British Medical Journal . , Vol. 319:: 793

            8. Sacchetti P., Zvara P. and Plante M. K.. 1999. . 'The Internet and patient education-resources and their reliability: focus on a select urologie topic'. . Urology . , Vol. 53((6)): 1117––20. .

            9. McClung H. J., Murray R. D. and Heitlinger L. A.. 1998. . 'The Internet as a source for current patient information'. . Pediatrics . , Vol. 101((6)): E21––E24. .

            10. Bluming A. and Mittelman P. S.. 1996. . 'Los Angeles Free Net: an experiment in interactive telecommunication between lay members of the Los Angeles community and health care experts'. . Bulletin of the Medical Library Association . , Vol. 84((2)): 217––22. .

            11. Cassell M. M., Jackson C. and Cheuvront B.. 1998. . 'Health communication on the Internet: an effective channel for health behaviour change?'. . Journal of Health Communication . , Vol. 3((1)): 71––9. .

            12. Wootton J. C.. 1997. . 'The quality of information on women's health on the Internet'. . Journal of Women's Health . , Vol. 6((5)): 575––81. .

            13. Glode L. M.. 1996. . 'Challenges and opportunities of the Internet for medical oncology'. . Journal of Clinical Oncology . , Vol. 14((7)): 2181––6. .

            14. Promette S. M.. 1996. . “Patient Involvement, Satisfaction and Behavior During Primary Care Initial Visits (Family Practice)'. ”. Illinois Institute of Technology. .

            15. Britten N. and Law S. A. T.. 1995. . 'Factors that influence the patient centredness of a consultation'. . British Journal of General Practice . , Vol. 45((399)): 520––4. .

            16. Evans J. R.. 1992. . 'The health of the public approach to medical education'. . Academic Medicine . , Vol. 67((11)): 719––23. .

            17. Alien J. and Brock S. A.. 2000. . Health Care Communication Using Personality Type: Patients Are Different . , London : : Routledge. .

            18. Impiccatore P., Pandolfini C., Casella N. and Bonati M.. 1997. . 'Reliability of health information for the public on the world wide web: a systematic survey of advice on managing fever in children at home'. . British Medical Journal . , Vol. 314:: 1875––8. .

            19. Soot L. C., Moneta G. L. and Edwards J. M.. 1999. . 'Vascular surgery and the Internet: a poor source of patient-oriented information'. . Journal of Vascular Surgery . , Vol. 30((1)): 84––90. .

            20. Arnow K. S.. 1996. . 'Medical technology transfer and physician-patient conversation'. . International Journal of Technology Management . , Vol. 11((1/2))

            21. Carnall D.. 1999. . www.healthanswers.com. . British Medical Journal . , 22 May;

            22. Thompson S.. 1999. . Psychiatric Bulletin . , Vol. 23:: 449––51. .

            23. 1999. . Times . , 31 July;

            24. Coulter A., Entwhistle V. and Gilbert D.. 1999. . 'Sharing decisions with patients: is the information good enough?'. . British Medical Journal . , : 318––22. .

            25. Farrell C.. 1997. . 'Promoting patient choice'. In: . Promoting Patient Choice Together, Conference Proceedings; . . 1997 ; . London : : Kings Fund. .

            26. Berry D. C., Michas I. C., Gillie A. and Forster M.. 1997. . 'What do patients want to know about their medicines and what do doctors want to tell them?: a comparative study'. . Psychology and Health . , Vol. 12:: 467––80. .

            27. Sheldon T. and Thwaites A.. “'Evidence-based patient information: the MIDIRS experience'. ”. In Promoting Patient Choice Together .

            28. Rigby M.. 1999. . 'The management and policy challenges of the globalisation effects of informatics and telemedicine'. . Health Policy . , Vol. 46((2)): 97––103. .

            29. Mandl K. D., Kohane I. S. and Brandt A. M.. 1998. . 'Electronic patient-physician communication: problems and promise'. . Annals of Internal Medicine . , Vol. 129((6)): 495––500. .

            30. Buhle E. L., Goldwin J. W. and Benjamin I.. 1994. . Oncolink-a multimedia oncology information resource on the lnternet'. . Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association . , Vol. 55:: 103––7. .

            31. Feenberg A. L., Licht J. M., Kane K. P., Moran K. and Smith R. A.. 1996. . The online patient meeting'. . Journal of the Neurological Sciences . , Vol. 139((55)): 129––31. .

            32. Eysenbach G. and Diepgen T. L.. 1999. . 'Patients looking for information on the Internet and seeking teleadvicemotivation, expectations and misconceptions as expressed in emails sent to physicians'. . Archives of Dermatology . , Vol. 135((2)): 151––6. .

            33. Neufeld K. R., Degner L. F. and Dick J. A. M.. 1993. . 'A nursing intervention to foster patient involvement in treatment decisions'. . Oncology Nursing Forum . , Vol. 20:: 631––5. .

            34. Ende J., Kazis L., Ash A. and Moskowitz M. A.. 1989. . 'Measuring patients' desire for autonomy: decision-making and information-seeking preferences among medical patients'. . Journal of General Internal Medicine . , Vol. 4:: 24––30. .

            35. Waterworth S. and Luker K. A.. 1990. . 'Reluctant collaborators: do patients want to be involved in decisions concerning care?'. . Journal of Advanced Nursing . , Vol. 15:: 971––6. .

            36. Pitts J. S.. 1997. . Involving Patients in Medical Decisions: Predictors, Influences on Process and Patient Outcomes . , Claremont Graduate University. .

            37. Helwig A. L., Lovelle A., Guse C. E. and Gottlieb M. S.. 1999. . 'An office-based Internet patient education system: a pilot study'. . Journal of Family Pradice . , Vol. 48((2)): 123––7. .

            38. Beaver K., Luker K. A., Owens R. G., Leinster S. J. and Degner L. F.. 1996. . 'Treatment decisionmaking in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer'. . Cancer Nursing . , Vol. 19:: 8––19. .

            39. McCoIl A., Smith H., White P. and Field J.. 1998. . 'General practitioners' perceptions of the route to evidence based medicine: a questionnaire survey'. . British Medical Journal . , Vol. 316:: 361––5. .

            40. Schleyer T. K. L., Spallek H. and Torres Urquidy M. H.. 1998. . 'A profile of current Internet users in dentistry'. . Journal of the American Dental Association . , Vol. 129((12)): 1748––53. .

            41. Gupta L., Ward J. and Hayward R. S. A.. 1997. . 'Future directions for clinical practice guidelines: needs, lead agencies and potential dissemination strategies identified by Australian general practi-tioners'. . Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health . , Vol. 21((5)): 495––9. .

            42. Prisse M. E.. 1996. . 'The commerce of ideas: Internets and intranets'. . Academic Medicine . , Vol. 71((7)): 749––53. .

            43. Wigger U.. 1996. . Medical Students' and Primary Care Physicians' Opinions and Concerns on the Use of Information Technology . , University of Illinois at Chicago. .

            44. Booth A.. 1999. . 'Pharm-ing Cyberspace: the Internet as a tool for evidence based pharmacotherapy'. . Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics . , Vol. 24((3)): 159––63. .

            Comments

            Comment on this article