BackgroundHealth care is changing with a new emphasis on patient-centeredness. Fundamental to this transformation is the increasing recognition of patients' role in health care delivery and design. Medical appointment scheduling, as the starting point of most non-urgent health care services, is undergoing major developments to support active involvement of patients. By using the Internet as a medium, patients are given more freedom in decision making about their preferences for the appointments and have improved access.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to identify the benefits and barriers to implement Web-based medical scheduling discussed in the literature as well as the unmet needs under the current health care environment.MethodsIn February 2017, MEDLINE was searched through PubMed to identify articles relating to the impacts of Web-based appointment scheduling.ResultsA total of 36 articles discussing 21 Web-based appointment systems were selected for this review. Most of the practices have positive changes in some metrics after adopting Web-based scheduling, such as reduced no-show rate, decreased staff labor, decreased waiting time, and improved satisfaction, and so on. Cost, flexibility, safety, and integrity are major reasons discouraging providers from switching to Web-based scheduling. Patients’ reluctance to adopt Web-based appointment scheduling is mainly influenced by their past experiences using computers and the Internet as well as their communication preferences.ConclusionsOverall, the literature suggests a growing trend for the adoption of Web-based appointment systems. The findings of this review suggest that there are benefits to a variety of patient outcomes from Web-based scheduling interventions with the need for further studies.

Background: Studies have reported that patient-related factors significantly impact the risk of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV). The objective of this study was to analyze those risk factors of CINV through a systematic literature review.Methods: We searched MEDLINE to identify articles that addressed patient-related risk factors of CINV through clinical studies.Results: A total of 49 articles were selected for this study. A total of 28 patient-related risk-factors that significantly impact the risk of CINV were documented. Three factors are demographically related, 17 factors are intrinsic in nature and innate to patient's physiology or influenced by physiology, and eight factors are extrinsic in nature. At least five studies identified seven risk factors with notable summary odds ratio: history of nausea/vomiting (odds ratio: 3.13, 95% CI 2.40-4.07, p < 0.05), female sex (odds ratio: 2.79, 95% CI 2.26-3.44, p < 0.05), expectancy of CINV (odds ratio: 2.61, 95%CI 1.69-4.02, p < 0.05), younger age (odds ratio: 2.59, 95% CI 2.18-3.07, p < 0.05), anxiety (odds ratio: 2.57, 95% CI 1.94-3.40, p < 0.05), history of morning sickness (odds ratio: 1.97, 95% CI 1.46-2.65, p < 0.05), and low alcohol intake (odds ratio: 1.94, 95% CI 1.68-2.24, p < 0.05).Conclusions: Oncologists can use these factors prior to the initiation of a chemotherapy regimen to identify patients at risk for CINV, in order to focus on more comprehensive antiemetic treatment options for those high-risk patients. This may enable better outcomes and avoid complications.