Ask CNN: How Has the Internet Affected Health Care?
YVONNE CHU: Hello. My name is Yvonne Chu. I am from Houston, Texas. And my question is: How has the Internet affected health care?</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The Internet has really changed the doctor-patient relationship. Before the Internet, if a patient wanted to learn let's say different treatment options for cancer, they would really have to rely pretty much on their doctor. They could get information some places, but it wasn't always so easy to get. But now anyone with a computer, anyone with a modem, can actually go on the Internet, can look at the different options, can think of questions that they want to ask their doctor, and then come into their doctors much better educated. Now some doctors aren't crazy about this revolution. They say they're the ones who went to medical school; they are the ones who should be telling patients what the options are. But studies show that most doctors have kind of gotten used to this. They are getting used to idea that patients will be more partners in treatment rather than just on the receiving end. And about 40 million Americans surf the Internet for medical advice. So doctors are really starting to change their attitudes.