The traditional and antiquated view of the family doctor carrying a medical bag has now retired and been replaced by the doctor prescribing medication via the teleconfere

The Internet is not only useful for assistance by physicians and their companions. Patients may also utilize this powerful tool for their benefit as well. The Internet allows patients to contact their physicians at any time. When there are times that it is “too late to call a doctor, it is not too late to log on to the Internet, link to one of a dozen sites offering medical advice online, and ask a question. [Patients]are turning to cyberspace for medical advice, asking doctors and fellow sufferers about everything from aching backs to drug addiction and Alzheimer's disease” (Scanlon). In addition to being able to contact doctors at any time, e-mail allows patients to contact their doctor directly and inform him or her exactly what needs to be relayed. There is no longer any need "to worry about whether my message was garbled in translation by a third person, or was left [forgotten] on a desk”(Fein). Patients are also able to register for hospital stays and schedule appointments quickly and with more ease; they no longer have to bear the burden of waiting on long lines and wait for their turn. There are also multitudinous Internet websites that possess a great deal of symptom descriptions, medical conditions, and treatment options . Web sites that patients come across “offer more than just information. Some sites offer services that were once available during a face-to face encounter between patient and doctor.” (Ethics Forum). Such Web sites are “sponsored by physicians and provide information on virtually every medical condition (Ethics Forum).” Among the Web sites given high marks for integrity are DrKoop.com and webMD.com. They contain a great deal of “advice and tips and have links to research on various diseases… [The site] aims to give patients the most up-to-date, automated, consumer-friendly access to medical information”( Scanlon). Other Web sites on the Internet also offer services that grade or rank healthcare providers, hospitals, and other healthcare services, allowing patients to be more selective when choosing a doctor. “Websites such as Healthgrades.com, offers quality report cards that purport to help people learn how well various hospitals and doctors rank on various services” (Halperin). Because of the help of such resources, patients are now more informed about medical issues than they have ever been in past years. “In some ways, the Internet is better than any doctor's visit, hospital stay or stint in medical school. The World Wide Web alone, the Internet' s most graphically oriented network of computers, is estimated to contain some 10,000 health-oriented sites. The Net opens medical school libraries to any computer user. And it spawns hundreds of tiny computer-linked communities through e-mail, chat services, and so-called usenet or news groups”(Amos).

In response to patients taking information about health into their own hands, some physicians feel that their guidance is still necessary in order to make wise medical decisions. Self-diagnoses made by patients themselves have placed doctors in a novel position. Because of the tradition of “Doctor knows best,” the concept of patients researching health information and performing self-diagnoses is an overwhelming thought. Doctors have reported that there is an increasing number of patients bringing in print-outs from Internet websites

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