Can patients find an Endocrine Surgeon? How hospital websites hide the expertise of these medical professionals. Am J Surg 2021 Jan;221(1):101-105
Date
07/06/2020Pubmed ID
32622508DOI
10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.06.016Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85087218709 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 10 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: With information on healthcare providers available on the internet, patient self-referral has become popular. This study serves to evaluate the ease with which patients can locate an Endocrine Surgeon using hospital websites.
METHODS: Websites of the 16 top academic hospitals from The US News and World Report's Hospital Rankings for 2018-2019 were accessed. Each "Find A Doctor" page was searched for: "thyroid nodule," "hyperparathyroidism," and "adrenal mass." Data for suggested providers was collected and analyzed.
RESULTS: Search results for "thyroid nodule" found Endocrine Surgeons as the predominant providers at 6% institutions, 25% suggested none. For "hyperparathyroidism," 31% institutions suggested a majority of Endocrine Surgeons, 19% suggested none. For "adrenal mass," 25% had Endocrine Surgeons as the predominant providers, 31% suggested none.
CONCLUSION: The majority of hospitals did not suggest Endocrine Surgeons as the predominant providers for the queried conditions, demonstrating the challenge patients face in finding an Endocrine Surgeon through hospital websites.
Author List
Gentry ZL, Ananthasekar S, Yeatts M, Chen H, Dream SAuthor
Sophie Y. Dream MD Assistant Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
EndocrinologyHealth Services Accessibility
Hospitals
Humans
Internet
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Specialties, Surgical
United States
