The Effect of the Internet on the Patient-Doctor Relationship in a Hospital in the City of São Paulo

Internet use by patients as a source of information on health and disease is expanding rapidly with obvious effects on the doctor-patient relationship. A self-administered questionnaire was used, about physicians´ perception on the use of the Internet by patients and about whether that use interferes with the doctor–patient relationship. 85.3% of the physicians reported that their patients accessed the Internet and that 92% used that information in a following visit. Overall, 56.9% of the physicians thought that the Internet helped the doctor–patient relationship, 27.6% thought it interfered with the relationship, and 15.5% believed that the Internet had a negative impact on it.