Medical genetics and patient use of the Internet

Clinical experience suggests that the Internet is increasingly becoming a r esource for patients seen in medical genetics. A prospective analysis was p erformed exploring patient use of the Internet prior to attending a medical genetics appointment. We administered 200 questionnaires assessing: 1) the frequency of patient use of the Internet for genetic information, 2) facto rs associated with Internet use, 3) patient assessment of the value of the information, and 4) patient views of the responsibility of medical genetics professionals to be familiar with Internet information. Results show that 77% (153/200) of patients have access to the Internet of which 29% (44/153) report searching the Internet for genetic information. A correlation was f ound between patient use of the Internet and reason for referral (p < 0.001 ), presence of a specific diagnosis (p < 0.001), and frequency of Internet use (p < 0.05). Overall, 80% (33/41) of patients found Internet information useful. Seventy-four percent (115/155) believed that medical genetics prof essionals have a responsibility to review relevant Internet sites for accur acy and 80% (123/153) felt chat professionals should provide their patients with appropriate and useful Internet sites. These results suggest that the role of medical genetics professionals is changing as a result of the deve lopment of the Internet.