Concerns of family practice physicians recommending medical Web sites to patients

This study, based on the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) of Hall and Hord, assesses the concerns Family Practice physicians in the State of Michigan have for recommending medical Internet web sites to patients. The CBAM identifies what concerns adopters or potential adopters have for embracing a particular innovation. Fifty-nine percent of the 147 Michigan physicians in this study recommend medical Internet web sites to patients. The profile exhibited by them is a classic “resistance” profile, as described by Hall and Hord, indicating they do so with some hesitancy. Specific concerns identified in this study include the quality of medical information available on the Internet, the lack of time to find and assess this information and the opportunity to discuss it with patients. The data also revealed significant differences on three variables: whether physicians recommended medical web sites to patients, their experience with the innovation, and that males were more likely to recommend medical Internet web sites to patients. Male physicians were found to be more resistant to the innovation than females.; Recommendations for assisting physicians with these concerns include educating physicians about the availability of quality assurance models, the existence of professionals trained specifically to handle medical information in a variety of situations and medical school and continuing education courses designed to make physicians more aware of medical Internet web site materials.; Suggestions for further studies include the exploration of the specific innovation characteristics of the recommendation of medical Internet web sites to patients, how patients and clinicians use of the Internet, the impact of that information on patient outcomes and the role of newly developed professions. Other aspects include finding ways to improve patient access to medical Internet materials, especially when access as well as issues related to ethical, legal and societal elements. Finally, the views of male and female physicians concerning threats to their authority may reveal other avenues that might influence the adoption of this innovation and improve the physician-patient relationship.