Abstract
ObjectiveTo determine whether the qualities and characteristics potential patients would like to know about doctors before making a choice about who to visit are present in their online biographies.MethodsMore than 1400 randomly selected family practice physician biographies were coded from 152 health systems in the United States. Biographies were coded for the presence of 24 pieces of information (e.g. was a photo present, was the doctor's medical schooling listed, and were personal hobbies/interests noted).ResultsThe most popular pieces of information provided are the doctor's gender, the doctor's clinic address, where the doctor went to medical school and performed residency, the doctor's board certification, and the doctor's photograph. Information, as indicated from prior studies, that patients think is important to know when choosing a new family physician (e.g. communication skills, interests outside of medicine) are rarely able to be determined from biographies.ConclusionHealthcare systems are not offering potential patients all of the information they might like to know about a doctor before making a choice of who to initially visit.Practice implicationsAdding just a little more information to biographies (e.g. personal interests of the doctor) could make a sometimes difficult choice easier on prospective patients. The inclusion of physician-introductory videos could also be helpful.
Published Version
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