(Princeton, NJ) July 25, 2000 - Consumer Health Sciences (CHS), the leading provider of in-depth consumer healthcare information for the pharmaceutical industry, today announced the results of its Internet Healthcare Project, a nationally representative survey of over 1800 users of the Internet for healthcare information. These data premiered at the DIA (Drug Information Association) Conference, "e-Business and e-Process: Transforming the Pharmaceutical Industry" in Boston, MA, and were presented by the president of CHS, Jane A. Donohue, Ph.D.

The data show that attitudinally, Internet users for healthcare information are more proactive healthcare consumers than non-users. They are more likely to ask a doctor for a prescription medication, and are more apt to question physicians about their advice. These attitudes and behaviors hold true for both frequent and occasional Internet healthcare information seekers, but are even more extreme for the frequent information seekers.

"The Internet Healthcare Project delivers the critical consumer information pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies need to appropriately harness the power of the Internet to optimize communications with patients and consumers," says Dr. Donohue. "The study provides detailed Internet usage information by condition and also profiles and compares Internet healthcare information seekers to their non-Internet using counterparts."

A New Group Emerges: "Cyberchondriacs"
According to Dr. Donohue, many frequent Internet users can be classified as "cyberchondriacs." Many of these people are actually surfing the web for healthcare information on a daily basis. When compared to the general population, these people are less satisfied with the healthcare they receive, are generally in poorer health, visit physicians and "alternative" health providers more often, miss more days of work due to poor health, and are the most likely to seek healthcare information from a variety of sources.

However, all of the 50 million Americans turning to the Internet for healthcare information insist that websites be reliable, informative, and updated frequently. These qualities are considered to be very important by over 80% of respondents. Most Internet users do not consider chat rooms, message boards, coupons, or rebates to be important website attractions.

Women Still the Gatekeepers on the Internet
Traditionally, women are more proactive in seeking healthcare information for both their families and themselves. This pattern is also true for the Internet, as women are more likely than are men to be frequent users of the Internet for healthcare information. Demographically, Internet healthcare information seekers are typically better educated with higher incomes than non-Internet users.

Consumer Health Sciences (CHS) is the leading provider of in-depth consumer healthcare information for the pharmaceutical industry. CHS collects information directly from consumers and creates large, comprehensive databases containing general and disease-specific information. CHS is the only source of projected consumer data that links attitudinal, quality of life and demographic information with clinical and behavioral measures. CHS offers consumer healthcare information through three product lines: Consumer Health PerspectiveTM, CHS Longitudinal Studies, and CHS Custom Research.

Full results of the CHS Internet Healthcare Project are available for purchase. For more information, please contact Consumer Health Sciences at 609-924-4455 or www.consumerhealthsciences.com