The Web, communication trends, and children's health. Part 3: The Web and health consumers.

The World Wide Web has the potential to change significantly how medical care is both delivered and consumed. This, the third of a five-part series on The Web, Communication Trends, and Children's Health, considers how families can use the Internet to find consumer health information and to access care. This article also discusses some of the potential and limitations of Web-based health resources. Part 1 of this series described the development and technology of the Internet and the Web. Part 2 suggested how pediatricians can use the Web to gather medical information and how the increasing capabilities of the Web may affect clinical practice.