Medical Website Expert Shares Design Tips

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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“…Several categories deemed important by patients were not provided on these websites 6–8 . Content regarding financing was not listed often.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We were unable to identify any previously published literature that evaluated the content most important to patients seeking a plastic surgeon. Therefore, the criteria that we selected were based on previously published literature that evaluated what patients deemed important to find on healthcare provider websites 6–8 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Content of US Plastic Surgery Private Practices' Websites

Ananthasekar¹,

Patel²,

Patel³

et al. 2021

Ann Plast Surg

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“…Criteria for publicity included links on the website to local television news, national news, newspapers, and/ or magazines. [5][6][7][8] Ease of site access was determined if the website was the first search result found on Google when searching for each website. Nondermatology professionals included listing of mid-level providers or researchers.…”

Section: U T I S D O N O T C O P Ymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, inclusion criteria and standardized criteria definitions were chosen based on the precedent established by the authors of similar analyses in plastic surgery and radiology. [5][6][7][8] Further investigation into the most valued aspects of care by patients within the context of the type of practice chosen would be valuable in refining inclusion criteria. Additionally, this study did not stratify the data collected based on factors such as gender, race, and geographical location; studies conducted on website traffic analysis patterns that focus on these aspects likely would further explain the significance of these findings.…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interacting With Dermatology Patients Online: Private Practice vs Academic Institute Website Content

Patel¹

2023

Cutis

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Although both private practices and academic institutions in dermatology treat the same variety of pathologies, private practices entice more patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in website content between dermatology private practices and academic institutions. All 140 dermatology residency programs were first queried. Only websites that contained pertinent information for patients were used in this study (113 of 140 programs). A total of 113 private practice websites were then matched for location and reputation. These sites were assessed for 23 content criteria categorized as practice, physician, patient, or treatment/procedure. The results may be useful for optimizing both private practice and academic institution websites so that patients can better understand the institutions that provide their care.

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Medical Website Expert Shares Design Tips

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The Content of US Plastic Surgery Private Practices' Websites

The Content of US Plastic Surgery Private Practices' Websites

Interacting With Dermatology Patients Online: Private Practice vs Academic Institute Website Content

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