Finding a cancer surgeon: How hospital websites make this difficult for their patients

Gentry, Zachary L.; Chen, Herbert; Fazendin, Jessica

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.07.018

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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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%

“…Previous studies have also raised this concern in surgical oncology, general surgery, and endocrine surgery. [27][28][29] This study has limitations. We utilized the top 20 ranked hospital systems in an attempt to represent all hospitals across the US; however, our conclusions are inherently not generalizable to individual hospitals or regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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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%

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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“…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

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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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“…These websites provide patients an opportunity to gain familiarity with a practice, learn offered services and treatments, and compare prices and physician ratings. Several surgical specialties have observed that self-referral is increasing in popularity 1,2 …”

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confidence: 99%

The Content of US Plastic Surgery Private Practices' Websites

Ananthasekar¹,

Patel²,

Patel³

et al. 2021

Ann Plast Surg

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Introduction Connecting patients with healthcare providers continues to grow as the digital era evolves. A successful website has the power to influence patients on choosing a practice and provider. The objectives of this study were to characterize information provided on private practice websites of plastics surgeons in the United States and to assess the relationship among the websites based on the number of years that the physicians have been in practice. Methods Newly board-certified plastic surgeons by the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 2005, 2010, and 2015 were identified. A Google search was conducted on all participants, and only those in private practice were included in this study. Each webpage was quantitatively and qualitatively assessed for the presence or absence of 23 criteria that were categorized as practice, physician, patient, or procedure information. χ2 was used for statistical analysis using Microsoft Excel (PSPP 1.2.0). A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Most plastic surgeons in each cohort were currently in private practice. A total of 532 plastic surgery private practice websites were analyzed. The data points found on 100% of the websites were directions to the facility and the contact for any billing questions. Most websites provided information on the practice and its surgeons. The most common web-based data points included online consultations and links to their social media. Information on expenses incurred by patients, such as cancellation policies and consultation fees, was least commonly listed. Conclusions Our study shows that the number of years in practice is not associated with comprehensiveness of their website's content. This study provides insight into the content of plastic surgery private practices' websites in the United States in relation to the practice, the physician, the patient, and the procedures. This information may be useful for expanding and optimizing their websites. This has the potential to increase patient satisfaction and visibility of the practice. The success of these businesses is vital as the private sector in plastic surgery continues to grow.

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Finding a cancer surgeon: How hospital websites make this difficult for their patients

Cited by 7 publications

References 8 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

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

The Content of US Plastic Surgery Private Practices' Websites

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