How People Use the Internet to Find Information on Medicines?

Objective. To quantify and characterize the use of the Internet to search for information about medicines. Methods. A random sample of subjects was interviewed in the city of Bordeaux (France) in November 2012 regarding their use of the Internet to find information on medicines. Results. Among 103 interviewed subjects (median age: 38 years; 53.4% of men), 48 (46.6%) reported using the Internet to find information about medicines (58.3% of women). Two-thirds (66.7%) declared visiting consumer forums. However, nearly 60% reported to first consult a health professional. Three subjects had already bought medicines on the web and half (52.0%) of those who never made a purchase on the Internet would not trust the quality of the medicine. Conclusion. Even if purchasing medicines on the web remains rare, this media is frequently used to find information on medicines and most often on websites of questionable quality.