Last modified: February 14, 1997 6:00 PM PST
Medicine by modem
The Internet is quickly becoming a tool of empowerment for 
patients and consumers who no longer have to rely solely on a physician's word for information on diagnoses and treatment.
patients and consumers who no longer have to rely solely on a physician's word for information on diagnoses and treatment.
But is all this information accurate? And should people follow the advice of others they have never met who have no formal medical credentials? Even licensed physicians are wary of dispensing advice on the Net when they can't even see the people asking questions.
This NEWS.COM special report takes a sampling of health sites online and examines whether the benefits of such public knowledge outweigh the potential dangers--or vice versa:
