Can patients find an Endocrine Surgeon? How hospital websites hide the expertise of these medical professionals

Background: There is an increasing trend of nonplastic surgeons performing breast surgery. Within, we evaluate the representation of plastic surgeons listed for breast reconstruction on major hospital system websites within the United States. Methods: The website search engines for the top 20 US medical centers according to the US News and World Report's Hospital Rankings from 2020 to 2021 were queried for search terms pertaining to breast reconstruction. Information collected for search results included gender, if they were a physician, medical specialty, medical school and residency attended, and each individual's position within the search results. Results: Across 80 distinct search attempts, 27 searches (34%) produced no results. The search term "breast reconstruction" yielded the most plastic surgeon search results, with plastic surgeons composing 39% of all search results. The search term "mastectomy" generated the least number of plastic surgeon results, with a 16% representation of plastic surgeons. Nearly two-thirds of physicians identified were nonplastic surgeons (67%). Other surgeons represented 47% of search results and obstetricians/gynecologists, 2%. Nonsurgeons represented 18% of queries. On average, plastic surgeons appeared higher on search lists than nonplastic surgeons, 13th to 39th, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Plastic surgeons composed only a third of physicians identified, and a third of searches produced no results. Patients interested in breast reconstruction may encounter difficulty finding an appropriate plastic surgeon. Inadequate search engines on hospital websites introduce inefficiencies for the entire health care systems and may negatively impact hospital and physician bottom line.

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“…Previous studies have also raised this concern in surgical oncology, general surgery, and endocrine surgery. 27–29…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites

Singh

Boyd

Aluri

et al. 2023

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open

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“…Customers' decision-making processes are often influenced by their perceptions and evaluations of a hospital's website [6]. It is important for hospital websites to meet their expectations by providing useful and accessible information [7]. Therefore, the evaluation of hospital websites has become inevitable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The subject of hospital website evaluation has been heavily researched in different studies, such as an analysis of private hospital websites promoting medical tourism in India, Malaysia, and Thailand [8]; an evaluation of the quality of private hospital websites in Turkey; an evaluation of top academic hospitals for finding endocrine surgeons [7]; an evaluation of website information provided by pediatric surgery centers in Australia and New Zealand [4]; and a ranking of children's hospital websites in the United States [9]. However, previous studies have not fully examined the evaluation of websites of general or large hospitals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of User-Oriented Information Services on the Websites of Large Hospitals in China and the United States: Cross-sectional Study

Zhong¹,

Tao²,

Yang³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

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Background Many people use the internet to access health care information to support health care decisions, and hospital websites can be the first point of contact to provide health care information services for consumers. However, little is known about the current information services provided by the websites of large Chinese hospitals. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the information services of the websites of large hospitals in China and the United States. We hope that our findings will benefit hospital managers worldwide in providing service information on the web. Methods This study adopted a cross-sectional analytical approach to evaluate the websites of large hospitals in China and the United States in 2020. A total of 300 large hospitals were randomly selected, of which half were in China and half were in the United States. Based on the 7Ps marketing mix, we identified 39 items that represent typical hospital website information services, covering the following seven dimensions: product, price, place, propagation, people, process, and physical evidence. Results Most of the items (34/39, 87%) related to information services offered by hospital websites were less covered in China than in the United States; however, 5 items (appointments by a third-party platform, mobile payment, hospital value, hospital environment display, and physicians’ profiles) had higher coverage in China. The average scores for hospital websites in China and the United States were 13.25 (SD 2.99) points and 23.16 (SD 2.76) points, respectively. Generally, high scores were given to the south areas of China and north areas of the United States. Conclusions Hospital websites in China lagged behind those in the United States with regard to information services offered. We recommend that hospital managers in China place more emphasis on the people, product, and propagation dimensions of the 7Ps marketing mix in the construction of information services on hospital websites. Through the comparison of the websites of large hospitals in China and the United States, our study findings can provide suggestions for forming standard hospital website construction guidelines worldwide.

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“…Recent studies in surgical subspecialties report that hospital websites may hinder patients from access to appropriate providers. 4,5 To our knowledge, no study has sought to objectively determine the reliability of hospital website' suggested list of providers for conditions commonly treated by general surgeons. In addressing this question, we hypothesized that the variability in hospital websites would make it difficult for patients to find a general surgeon for their care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Finding a General Surgeon: Self-Referral in the Digital Era”

Gentry

Ananthasekar

Chen

et al. 2020

The American Surgeon

Self Cite

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Background As technology becomes more prominent in today’s society, more patients turn to the Internet to self-refer for a range of surgical problems. Frequently, patients search a nearby hospital’s website in order to find a physician. We hypothesized that the variability in hospital websites would make it difficult for patients to find a general surgeon for their care. Methods We used the US News and World Report’s Hospital Rankings 2018-2019 for this study. The “Find A Doctor” page within each hospital’s website was searched for the following conditions: “hernia” and “gallbladder.” Information on all suggested providers was collected, including medical specialty and gender. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results The median number of providers listed in each search was 18 (range: 1-204). For “hernia,” general surgeons were not the majority of providers suggested at 12/16 institutions. For “gallbladder,” general surgeons were not the majority of providers suggested at 14/16 institutions, and 3/16 institutions did not suggest any. All 16 institutions suggested a strong majority of male providers (range: 62-100% male; median: 83% male). Discussion Considerable variation exists in the suggestion of medical providers for common general surgical problems among the top academic hospitals. Most notably, general surgeons are not listed as the primary providers for these conditions which they commonly manage. Health systems need to examine how their website suggest providers and ensure that patients can easily find the physician most suitable for their care.

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Can patients find an Endocrine Surgeon? How hospital websites hide the expertise of these medical professionals

Cited by 14 publications

References 20 publications

One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites

One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites

Comparison of User-Oriented Information Services on the Websites of Large Hospitals in China and the United States: Cross-sectional Study

“Finding a General Surgeon: Self-Referral in the Digital Era”

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