Our experience on the use of internet in a phase I clinical study

CIOCCA D. R.; CUELLO CARRIÓN F. D.; FANELLI M. A.; NADIN S. B.; MONTT GUEVARA M. M.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; The 9th Annual World Congress on the Medicine in Internet; 2004

The Society for the Internet in Medicine

A phase I clinical study was started in 2001 to evaluate a therapeutic vaccine in cancer patients. In the informed consent, the patients were instructed on the possibility to consult via Internet on information on this therapy. Here we communicate our experiences on the advantages and disadvantages on the use of Internet. In the first educational visit to the principal investigators (PI) all patients were motivated to enter specific Internet sites. Conclusion: In the second visit to the PI, only a limited number of patients consulted Internet information (< 50%), and this was closely related to the socio-economic level of the patients entered into the study. Among the advantages noted in the patients that consulted internet are: 1) a considerable saving in time for further explanations (less questions in the next interview); and 2) the communication patient-PI was facilitated, e.g., the patients showed more familiarity with the medical language. The major advantage of Internet was in the follow-up of the patients residing outside of the city; they kept the communication with the PI more frequently and sent the results of their controls (laboratory and image studies) via Internet. Among the disadvantages we noted: 1) some patients entered Internet to get disease data without medical guidance obtaining to much information, or from non-serious sites and they got confused. 2) This situation generated more questions to the PI and was time consuming. Some patients sent images using programs that were not available at the site of the PI. In general, we noted that the patients need more medical guidance in the use of Internet, and that the physicians also need more education about the different possibilities opened by the Internet. Finally, it is important to stress that all of the patients that entered Internet wanted/needed a personal contact with the PI.