If you surf the web to find medical information, you’re not alone. The U.S. government reports that more than half of Americans used the internet to find health information last year.

The National Center for Health Statistics surveyed nearly 7,200 people between the ages of 18 and 64 for the study.

They found that 51 percent of individuals used the internet to look up health information in 2009, with women logging on more often than men (58 percent versus 43 percent). In addition, women were more likely to use online chat rooms to learn about medical issues than men (4 percent versus 2.5 percent).

Some Americans are also using technology to communicate with their doctors. The survey found 5 percent used email to correspond with doctors, 6 percent requested prescription refills online and 3 percent used the internet to make an appointment.

According to Reuters, previous studies have found that doctors may be weary of communicating with patients via email because of privacy concerns and questions over how to charge for their time.