It has been proposed that the internet has great potential for providing needed support and services for patients with diabetes and other chronic illnesses 5 . It is often assumed that the internet provides, via the numerous websites, a vast range of information which is easily available to help patients. My own experience of the internet confirms the availability but reinforces anxieties about quality. The Newsgroups on the internet are usually ignored in the literature. However, they have a profound effect on the many who read them.
Patients often try to understand things by relating their problem to someone they know.
Thus if they have chest pain and a neighbour recently had a heart attack they will relate everything to what they know of the neighbour's history. Vested interests peddling their wares More insidious is the partial and thus misleading information, which is very common. Websites The vast range of information on the Web is both stimulating and daunting. Many websites, from reputable organisations and individuals, are well designed, with good quality information. Many websites are from individuals with obsessions or misconceptions.