Marco, JavierBarba, RaquelLosa, JEde la Serna, CMSainz, Mde la Serna, JL2024-10-152024-10-152006-07-04Marco J, Barba R, Losa JE, de la Serna CM, Sainz M, Lantigua IF, et al. (2006) Advice from a Medical Expert through the Internet on Queries about AIDS and Hepatitis: Analysis of a Pilot Experiment. PLoS Med 3(7): e256. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.00302561549- 1277 (online)https://hdl.handle.net/10115/40214Background: Advice from a medical expert on concerns and queries expressed anonymously through the Internet by patients and later posted on the Web, offers a new type of patient-doctor relationship. The aim of the current study was to perform a descriptive analysis of questions about AIDS and hepatitis made to an infectious disease expert and sent through the Internet to a consumer-oriented Web site in the Spanish language. Methods and findings: Questions were e-mailed and the questions and answers were posted anonymously in the "expert-advice" section of a Web site focused on AIDS and hepatitis. We performed a descriptive study and a temporal analysis of the questions received in the first 12 months after the launch of the site. A total of 899 questions were received from December 2003 to November 2004, with a marked linear growth pattern. Questions originated in Spain in 68% of cases and 32% came from Latin America (the Caribbean, Central America, and South America). Eighty percent of the senders were male. Most of the questions concerned HIV infection (79%) with many fewer on hepatitis (17%). The highest numbers of questions were submitted just after the weekend (37% of questions were made on Mondays and Tuesdays). Risk factors for contracting HIV infection were the most frequent concern (69%), followed by the window period for detection (12.6%), laboratory results (5.9%), symptoms (4.7%), diagnosis (2.7%), and treatment (2.2%). Conclusions: Our results confirm a great demand for this type of "ask-the-expert" Internet service, at least for AIDS and hepatitis. Factors such as anonymity, free access, and immediate answers have been key factors in its success.engAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/acessEmail consultationsHealth-careVIH-AIDSInformationwebinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article10.1371/journal.pmed.0030256info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess