Most doctors view the Internet as a waste of time, according to a new report released last week by Forrester Research. It is one with potentially tectonic public health implications. Physicians aren't rejecting the dot-com world because they're uncomfortable with the technology. I know no doctors who don't have a personal email address. Instead, Net familiarity is breeding contempt, especially when it comes to email interactions with patients.
Doctors see email as an additional burden on an already overcrowded schedule.
It's an unpaid burden at that, since they cannot bill for email consultations unlike attorneys and accountants. Even more maddening to physicians are consumer-oriented health websites. Although there is solid, even breakthrough medical information to be found online , many MDs find the sites more of a nuisance than an aid. Doctors are negatively impacted by these sites because they waste doctors' time. Often, it's snake oil.