Usage of Internet in Seeking Health Information among Medical and Dental Practitioners in Hyderabad

Abstract

Introduction: The Internet has revolutionized the way information is shared and accessed. Information retrieval is easier now than ever before due to drastic increase in rise of modern search engines. One important domain in which the Internet plays an increasing role is health information access. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 200 medical and 200 dental practitioners in Hyderabad. A pretested structured 15 item questionnaire was used to collect the data. Chi square test was used to assess the difference in internet usage among medical and dental practitioners. Results: Mean age of the practitioners was 37 years and majority of them were males. 76% dental practitioners use internet for getting updated about new materials and techniques.78% of medical practitioners used internet to get updated about the recent advances in treatment procedures. Conclusion: There is a significant difference in the usage of internet among medical and dental practitioners.