Usage analysis of a primary care medical resource on the Internet

Physicians and patients need convenient access to quality medical informati on. This study's goal was to place a medical resource on the World-Wide Web (WWW), allow access to it through a simple to use interface, and analyze t he usage of such a resource. The Family Practice Handbook (TFPH) was digiti zed and placed onto the WWW. Usage data was obtained from June 1995-June 19 96. 118,804 individuals accessed TFPH viewing 409,711 pages of information. A broad spectrum of topics was accessed. TFPH proved to be an extremely po pular resource, servicing the broad information needs of an international a udience. These preliminary findings suggest the future promise of Internet medical resources. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.