In its white paper, the Medical Council encouraged doctors to invest in the web, notably via medical blogs. The purpose of the present study was to group together the viewpoints of doctor-bloggers and their readers on this subject, and to compare them to the above-mentioned recommendations. Based on 20 responses from doctors-bloggers and on 824 answers from their readers, this study demonstrates that the doctors and their readers fully agree with the majority of these recommendations. Nevertheless, a certain amount of refraction is necessary in particular concerning certain difficult aspects such as anonymity, the use of a nickname as well as certification. While the Medical Council underlines the importance of medical presentation to the general public, the doctor-bloggers more strive to present their daily professional life in the aim of opening a dialog with their readers. These are looking for more proximity with doctors, through their blogs. In the framework of this study we also propose a non-exhaustive set of guidelines for doctors interested in creating and maintaining their own blog.
