NEW YORK, Mar 20 (Reuters Health) - An overwhelming majority of physicians--96%--believes that the Internet will make the practice of medicine easier and improve the quality of care by 2003, according to survey results released Tuesday.

And while more than one-third consider Internet-based technologies to be essential for future practice, most agree that the Internet's full potential will not be realized until the lack of system compatibility across healthcare organizations is addressed, the survey found.

Still, the findings affirm that the Internet is transforming physicians' practice of medicine far more rapidly than most observers thought possible, sponsors of the survey report.

"Physicians are actively seeking to integrate computers and the Internet into their practices and do not appear to need further convincing that technology will play an increasingly significant role," said Dr. Molly Joel Coye, CEO of the Health Technology Center, or HealthTech, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the use of new technologies to improve health.

Harris Interactive polled 215 physician leaders and office-based practicing physicians at medium and large practices on behalf of HealthTech, which sponsored the survey in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Institute for the Future, a nonprofit research firm. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed use at least one Internet-enabled application. For example, 71% report using the Internet for medical information and news and 50% use it to access guidelines or protocols.

Physicians identified six services as "essential" to their future success: diagnostic reporting (34%), claims processing services (35%), pharmaceutical information (34%), purchase of medical office products (29%), e-mail communication with patients (29%), and electronic medical records (19%).

Only 7% use automated systems for prescribing.