The role of the Internet in physician–patient relationships: The issue of trust

The Internet has proven to be a powerful and very popular vehicle for distributing health information to millions of individuals; it is interactive, user-controlled, and provides an effective means for communicating detailed information. While there has been increasing use of the Internet in healthcare, little research has been conducted to examine what, if any, impact the availability and integrity of healthcare information on the Internet has on the physician–patient relationship. Importantly, several studies show that Web-based health information frequently contains inaccurate or incomplete information. Patients who retain such information go so far as to suggest approaches to their physicians and express disappointment when the physicians refuse to prescribe as expected. For their part, doctors are concerned about the physician–patient relationship when they have to explain to patients that their Internet-based information is less than accurate; consequently, the physician–patient relationship is often affected. While many issues bear upon the physician–patient relationship, the central one is trust. This article examines consumer use of the Internet for healthcare information, considers the problems caused by inaccuracies or omissions from third party websites, and sets forth recommendations regarding how the Internet can be used to improve the physician–patient relationship. It is hoped that these suggestions provide a better understanding of the required components of upcoming healthcare strategies.