In that an estimated 74% of adults in the U.S. use the Internet, The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected data on the use of health information technologies (HIT), or applications of information processing via computes that access, retrieve, store, or share health care information.  The Survey found that:
• From January through June 2009, 51% of adults, ages 18 to 64 years, had used the Internet to look up health information during the past 12 months
• Over 3% of adults, ages 18 to 64 years, had used an online chat group to learn about health topics in the past 12 months.
• Among adults, ages 18 to 64 years, women were more likely than men to look up health information on the Internet (58.0% versus 43.4%, respectively), and were also more likely to use online chat groups to learn about health topics (4.1% versus 2.5%, respectively
The researchers note that: “the Internet has the potential to improve consumer health by facilitating communication between providers and patients, and among providers … the Internet may become increasingly important as a source of health information for consumers.”