Older MDs rushing to the Internet

According to the CMA's 2001 Physician Resource Questionnaire (PRQ), Internet use among physicians continues to rise, with 84% of physicians reporting that they use the Internet, compared with 76% in 2000. Younger physicians are most likely to be online, with 92% of those under 35 and 89% of those aged 35–44 reporting that they use the Internet, compared with 80% of those in the 45–54 age group and 64% of those 65 years and older. While the rate of Internet use is up among all age groups in the past year, the largest increase was in the 65-and-older cohort, which stood at only 44% in 2000. Forty-three percent of non-Internet users indicated that they plan to start using the medium in the next 12 months.

Figure.

Following a pattern evident in previous years, GP/FPs are somewhat less likely to use the Internet (78%) than medical (89%) and surgical specialists (88%).

For the first time in 2001, the PRQ asked about the locations at which physicians engage in Internet activities. Thirty-eight percent of respondents indicated that they use the Internet only at home, 6% use it only at a professional location and 55% use it at home as well as at a professional location. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they spend most time online at home, while only 19% indicated that most of their Internet use takes place at a professional location.

The PRQ is Canada's largest annual survey of the professional activities of physicians. The 2001 survey was mailed to a random sample of 7756 doctors, and the response rate was 42%. Results at the national level are considered accurate to ± 1.8%, 19 times out of 20. Tables from the 2001 PRQ are available at www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-165/issue-5/prq/index.asp.