Medicine and the internet

Abstract

Practicing physicians are frequently overwhelmed by the amount of new medical information. The internet is increasingly becoming an important vehicle for accessing that information with a variety of online resources for medical professionals. In its current state, however, the internet abounds with misleading information, making it difficult to sort out what is both meaningful and accurate from among the thousands of electronic documents. In this article, we list medical web sites that we have found to be useful, accurate, and easy to navigate. We also give an overview of the internet and World Wide Web to provide a starting point for novice users, and we briefly discuss how internet policy relates to medical practice.