Among the work tools of Italian family doctors, the Internet is now inevitable. Nine out of ten white coats usually surf the web to look for professional information. And they often use social networks: 30% has an online profile on these spaces and half of these, for a total of about 6,000 doctors, have chosen Facebook, followed at a distance by MySpace and Twitter. This is indicated by the first data of a research launched by the Italian Federation of general practitioners (Fimmg) on the use of information technology and new technological tools, which will be concluded "in the coming months and presented in the autumn", explained Fiorenzo Corti, the union's communication manager, yesterday at the meeting dedicated to "New channels for scientific information", organized in Rome by Business International. «Family doctors who use the Internet at home or in the practice - explains Corti - are the vast majority. In some regions, such as Emilia Romagna where ADSL is available to everyone, the 100% of white coats accesses the Net». But we need to better understand how. And it is the objective of the research launched by Fimmg. "We are facing a dangerous phase of decline in scientific information on drugs to family doctors". In fact, "little information is provided on medicines with expired patents and there is none on innovative medicines, which are not part of the "paraphernalia" of primary care, but which the general practitioner should also know, in order to monitor the health of his patients and answer any doubts they may have", emphasized Claudio Cricelli, president of the Italian Society of General Medicine, who spoke at the conference. «Traditional information – explains Cricelli on the sidelines of the meeting – is in great difficulty because the indications to doctors on expired patent drugs are no longer treated as they were before the expiry of patent protection, when companies made ad hoc investments».
DoctorNews – 17 June 2010 – Year 8, Number 110
