Proposed curricular objectives to teach physicians competence in using the World Wide Web

Abstract

As the World Wide Web becomes more ubiquitous, physicians are increasingly using the information it provides as part of medical practice. The Web can be a valuable information resource for patient education and decision support or it can be a troubling source of misinformation for providers and patients alike. Attempts have been made to apply quality standards to Web sites, but these have been only moderately successful. Medical schools are designing curricula to confront the content of the medical information explosion, but they also have an obligation to teach students how to quality filter and critically analyze the sources of this information, particularly when it is delivered over the Web. The authors suggest some of the concepts that need to be considered when educating the next generation of what they have termed "information-astute physicians."