WEDNESDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- The Internet has made vast amounts of health information available to the general public, but all that virtual "noise" has made people more likely than ever to trust their doctor with medical decisions, a new survey finds.

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The study dovetails with previous research showing that the Internet is not replacing the role of doctors in people's health, said Susannah Fox, an associate director of the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project.

Some people had been concerned that the Internet would supplant people's need to visit the doctor, much as Web sites have replaced local travel agents and print newspapers for many, Hesse and Fox said.

This latest research reveals the opposite is occurring.

"There are some institutions that will not budge," Fox said. "The doctor's appointment is an institution that will not budge. People still want someone to help guide them when they're making decisions about an acute disease or managing a chronic illness."

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People also are using Web sites to get answers for questions they feel are too minor to bring to their doctor, Fox said.

"When these health questions pop up in people's lives, often they do want to talk to a doctor," Fox said. "But if it's after office hours or a question that doesn't necessarily need expert advice, there are decisions that can be made using information found on the Internet. On the big decisions, for example diagnosis and treatment decisions, people are still relying on health professionals to help them make those very high-stakes decisions."

The increase in e-mail correspondence with physicians, along with a large decrease in people's trust in other sources of information, point to an increasing role the Internet will have in health care, even if that role will remain supplemental to a doctor's authority, Fox said.

"The key is making sure we understand that as mobile devices and broadband proliferate, the conversation is increasingly happening online," she said.

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