Hospital Web Research Articles

Hospital Web Quality Multicriteria Analysis Model (HWQ): Development and Application Test in Spanish Hospitals

The Hospital Web Quality Multicriteria Analysis Model (HWQ) is constructed, designed, and validated in this research. For this purpose, we examined the web quality analysis models specialized in hospitals and health centers through a literature review and the most current taxonomies to analyze digital media. Based on the benchmarking and walkthrough methods, the analysis model was built and validated by a panel of experts (X = 3.54, CVI = 0.88, Score Σ = 45.58). To test its applicability and reliability, the model was pilot-tested on the websites of the ten public and private hospitals with the best reputation in Spain in 2022, according to the Merco Sanitario ranking. The results showed very similar web structures divided by specific proposals or sections of some centers. In this regard, this study identifies a general communication proposal in hospitals that does not adapt to the guidelines of screen-mediated communication, as well as a lack of personalization and disruptive storytelling ideation. In addition, the work concludes that Spanish hospitals, for the moment, have not opted for formats and technological developments derived from the possibilities of gamified content, 360° immersion, Virtual Reality (V.R), or Augmented Reality (A.R).

Cost-utility analysis and impact on the environment of videoconference in pressure injury. A randomized controlled trial in individuals with spinal cord injury

Study designA prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and ongoing pressure injury (PI).ObjectivesThe main aim was to perform a cost-utility analysis (CUA) alongside the RCT comparing regular care to regular care with additional videoconference consultations. Secondary aims were to assess costs and greenhouse gas emission related to transportation in the two study groups.SettingTwo spinal cord units in Norway.MethodsParticipants were allocated to a regular care group (RCG) and a regular care group with additional videoconference (VCG), in a 1-year follow-up between 2016 and 2018. Costs were prospectively collected, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data were collected at baseline and 12 months. The outcome was quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), derived from the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Results are reported as incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), expressed as the cost per additional QALY gained. Transportation related costs and environmental emissions were compared by t-tests.ResultsThere were 56 participants included, 28 in each group. Of these 27 in the VCG and 26 in the RCG completed. Three participants died. The mean cost per patient was € 8819 in the VCG and € 3607 in the RCG, with 0.1 QALYs gained in the VCG. No significant differences were identified regarding HRQoL or secondary outcomes.ConclusionThe VCG costs € 5212 more for an additional 0.1 QALYs, giving an ICER of € 52,120 per QALY. No significant differences were found regarding transportation-related costs, or emission of greenhouse gases.Trial registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02800915, TeleSCIpi. CRISTIN.no. https://app.cristin.no/projects/show.jsf?id=545284. Sunnaas Rehabilitation hospital’s web page, available at https://www.sunnaas.no/fag-og-forskning/fagstoff/sar.

Telephone follow-up by nurse practitioners of geriatric patients discharged from the emergency department after traumatic injury

IntroductionGeriatric patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) after an injury are at risk for adverse outcomes. Older patients are at a higher risk for sensory impairments and cognitive problems which can make comprehension of discharge instructions more difficult. Moreover, geriatric patients often have limited skills with or access to alternative sources of information, such as hospital web pages or phone applications, which could put them at a higher risk of undertreatment. Implementing telephone follow-up after discharge presents a potential solution to enhance information transfer and address problems related to the injury. MethodsAn exploratory cohort study was conducted in the ED of an inner-city hospital in the Netherlands between 2019-2020. Patients ≥70 years were included if they presented with an injury and were discharged home from the ED. Telephone follow-up was performed by an ED nurse practitioner within 48 hours after discharge to address any problems or questions relating to the injury. Feasibility was assessed by determining whether the intervention could be performed within the allotted time period during normal work hours (1 h per day). The frequency and type of additional advice given, as well as patient satisfaction with the intervention, were documented. Results635 patients were eligible for inclusion, and 266 completed the intervention (median age 77 years; 32 % male). Nurse practitioners were able to complete the intervention on over 90 % of days. A total of 64 % of patients received additional advice during the telephone call, mostly related to pain medication adjustments and instructions to contact their GP. Patient satisfaction with the intervention was high (median score 8/10). ConclusionTelephone follow-up is a feasible intervention that may be able to enhance older patients' comprehension of discharge instructions and help identify new problems after discharge. During the follow-up call, the majority of patients received additional advice, indicating a potential demand for this intervention. The main limitation was that not all eligible patients were approached or did not want to participate in the intervention. Future studies should investigate whether telephone follow-up can effectively reduce adverse events and improve the quality of life for these patients.

DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION MODELING WITH ARENA FOR COMBINATION OF MANUAL QUEUE AND FAST TRACK QUEUE IN HOSPITAL

In this study an analysis of the patient queuing system will be carried out by developing a queuing system, namely adding aspects of patient registration status and the registration process with a system or machine or through the hospital's web by downloading an application. This study aims to improve the efficiency of patient service management in clinics and develop a patient care management simulation model so that the number of patient rejections and patient waiting time in clinics. Discrete Event Simulation (DES) with ARENA and compare it with manual processes and with applications or machines in the registration process. The results show that patient rejection can be reduced to 1%, and the average patient time to be seen by a doctor is 0.7145 hours. If converted into minutes, each type of patient takes about 10 minutes in the doctor's office.

Association of women leaders in the C-suite with hospital performance

BackgroundWomen comprise 50% of the healthcare workforce, but only about 25% of senior leadership positions in the USA. No studies to our knowledge have investigated the performance of hospitals led...

Analysis of Patient-Focused Information About Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion on US Hospital Web Pages

This cross-sectional study examines information provided about left atrial appendage occlusion, particularly use of the Watchman device, on publicly available US hospital web pages.

Literature Review: Analysis of Soft Skills Affecting the Recruitment Process for General Practitioners in Hospitals

The purpose of this system is to analyze Soft Skills that affect the recruitment process of general practitioners in hospitals. The literature review in this study was carried out through a systematic selection sought from international databases. The author searches for data sources from various databases, including PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/), and SAGE journals (https://journals.sagepub.com/). The articles found were 10 articles that discussed the recruitment process and the influence of soft skills in the recruitment process. In the recruitment process, prospective applicants go through various recruitment and selection stages. The method used by the hospital is done online and offline. The online method is widely used in the form of information that is disseminated through the hospital web, Facebook and Instagram offline by recruiting internal hospitals such as recommendations from hospital employees and foundations. Hospitals under the auspices of the foundation prefer to use the offline method, namely by withdrawing from existing foundations, although it is possible to recruit online.

Accuracy and Completeness of Intermediate-Level Nursery Descriptions on Hospital Websites

Birth at hospitals with an appropriate level of neonatal intensive care units is associated with better neonatal outcomes. The primary sources for information about hospital neonatal unit levels for prospective parents, referring physicians, and the public are hospital websites, but the accuracy of neonatal unit capacity is unclear. To determine if hospital websites accurately report the capabilities of intermediate (ie, level II) units, which are intended for care of newborns with low to moderate illness levels or the stabilization of newborns prior to transfer. This cross-sectional study compared descriptions of level II unit capabilities on hospital web pages in 10 large states with their respective state-level designation. Analyzed units were located in the 10 states with the highest number of live births in 2019 (excluding states with no level II regulations) and had active websites as of May 2021. Hospital websites were assessed for whether there was any mention of the unit, the description of the unit was provided, the unit was identified as a level III or both levels II and III, the terms "neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" were used without indicating limits in care available or newborn acuity, or the unit was claimed to provide the most advanced level of care. A total 28 states had no regulation of nursery unit levels; in the 10 large, regulated states, web descriptions of level II units were incomplete for 39.2% of hospitals (95% CI, 33.3%-45.3%) and inaccurate for 24.6% (95% CI, 19.6%-30.2%). Within incomplete descriptions, 2.6% (95% CI, 1.1%-5.3%) of hospitals did not mention an advanced care unit and 22.0% (95% CI, 17.2%-27.5%) identified a level II unit without providing further description. Within inaccurate descriptions, 25.4% (95% CI, 20.3%-31.0%) of hospitals described the unit as a "neonatal intensive care unit" or "NICU" without any qualification and 9.3% (95% CI, 6.3%-13.5%) claimed that the unit provided the most advanced neonatal care or care to the sickest newborns; 3.0% of hospitals (95% CI, 1.3%-6.0%) stated that their unit was level III and 1.5% (95% CI, 0.4%-3.8%) as level II and III. Across states there was substantial variation in rates of incompleteness and inaccuracy. Incomplete and inaccurate hospital web descriptions of intermediate newborn care units are common. These deficits can mislead parents, clinicians, and the public about the appropriateness of a hospital for sick newborns, which raises important ethical questions.

Accessibility evaluation of university hospital websites in Turkey.

Hospital web pages serve as an interactive communication resource to meet the needs of patients, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders. The aim of this study is to present the accessibility analysis of 58 university hospital websites in Turkey. For this purpose, websites of the selected university hospitals were analyzed using two different online automated testing tools. The results showed that university hospital websites in Turkey had low compliance levels according to the WCAG 2.0 guidelines. Most of the websites did not even meet the minimum requirements for compliance level A. In addition, almost all of the websites had broken links and about a third of the websites had problems with accessing from mobile devices. Moreover, some important clues that draw attention to the accessibility problems of websites are also discussed in this study. Hence, the results of this study provide feedback to developers and administrators to improve the accessibility of these websites.

Health Care Price Transparency in Ophthalmology

Health care price transparency legislation is intended to reduce the ambiguity of hospital charges and the resultant financial stress faced by patients. To evaluate the availability, usability, and variability of standard reported prices for ophthalmologic procedures at academic hospitals. In this multicenter economic evaluation study, publicly available price transparency web pages from Association of American Medical Colleges affiliate hospitals were parsed for standard charges and usability metrics. Price transparency data were collected from hospital web pages that met the inclusion criteria. Geographic practice cost indices for work, practice expense, and malpractice were sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Data were sourced from February 1 to April 30, 2021. Multiple regression was used to study the geographic influence on standard charges and assess the correlation between standard charges. Availability and variability of standard prices for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes 66984 (removal of cataract with insertion of lens) and 66821 (removal of recurring cataract in lens capsule using laser). Of 247 hospitals included, 191 (77.3%) provided consumer-friendly shoppable services, most commonly in the form of a price estimator or online tool. For CPT code 66984, 102 hospital (53.4%) provided discount cash pay estimates with a mean (SD) price of $7818.86 ($5407.91). For CPT code 66821, 71 hospital (37.2%) provided discount cash pay estimates with a mean (SD) price of $2041.72 ($2106.44). The top quartile of hospitals, prices wise, listed included prices higher than $10 400 for CPT code 66984 and $2324 for CPT code 66821. Usability issues were noted for 36 hospitals (18.8%), including requirements for personal information or web page navigability barriers. Multiple regression analysis found minimal explanatory value for geographic practice cost indices for cash discount prices for CPT codes 66984 (adjusted R2 = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.41-0.67; P < .001) and 66821 (adjusted R2 = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51-0.77; P < .001). Despite recent legislature that codified price transparency requirements, some current standard charges remain ambiguous, with substantial interhospital variability not explained by geographic variability in costs. Given the potential for ambiguous pricing to burden vulnerable, uninsured patients, additional legislation might consider allowing hospitals to defer price estimates or rigorously define standards for actionable cash discount percentages with provisions for displaying relevant benchmark prices.

A Study on Disposal of Unidentified Dead Bodies in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sri Lanka Along with Legal Provisions and Procedural Circumstances

<strong><em>Introduction:</em></strong><em> </em>It is mandatory for Forensic Pathologists (FPs)/Judicial Medical Officers (JMOs) in Sri Lanka to handle the disposal procedure of unidentified dead bodies, and it is not unusual for these doctors to face many hardships during this process. It requires the help of many stakeholders to fulfil all legal requirements before the proper disposal process. This retrospective data analysis was performed to study the demography of such decedents and also to address evidentially the prevailing issues surrounding the disposal of unidentified decedents. Based on the study the deficiencies and strengths of the present procedure of disposal of decedents were studied. The existing legal procedure of inquest in relation to the unidentified decedents was also studied. <em> </em> <em> </em> <strong><em>Methodology:</em></strong><em> </em>The details of the unidentified decedents available in the registers of the Colombo South Teaching Hospital were perused and analysed from August 2016 to August 2020. The communication file with police and the records pertaining to the mortuary coolers were also perused. The present law of the country related to the disposal of unidentified decedents and prevailing procedural circumstances are also scrutinized. <em> </em> <em> </em> <strong><em>Results:</em></strong><em> </em>One-hundred and forty-one (141) unidentified dead bodies were autopsied (03% of all dead bodies) during the four years. The male to female ratio was 13:1, and the majority of victims (n= 81 and 57%) were of 61-80 years age range. The cause of death was natural in 81%. After receiving the dead body, the meantime to perform the autopsy was 90 days and 5 days to dispose of the dead body. The Police had handed over 50% (n=71) of decedents to the hospital. <em> </em> <strong><em>Conclusion:</em></strong><em> </em>The duration to perform the post-mortem examination from the date of handover was lengthy, and it revealed that this delay was due to the slow progression of essential initial steps that to be followed by the police. One recommendation to rectify this delay is utilizing the hospital web page to display details of the unidentified decedents. There is no “specified” procedure for the disposal of unidentified decedents in Sri Lanka. But it is covered under the inquest procedure and with the Departmental Orders of the Department of Police for a certain extent.

Availability and readability of online patient information on clubfoot: assessment of paediatric hospital clubfoot web pages.

PurposeTo determine the availability and readability of online patient information (OPI) provided by paediatric hospitals in the United States using clubfoot as a model conditionMethodsThe websites of the top 95 paediatric hospitals identified using US News & World Report were included. The names of paediatric hospitals and the terms “clubfoot”, “clubfeet” and “talipes equinovarus” were entered into the Google search engine. Readability was assessed using five validated metrics and the composite grade level (CGL). The number of unpaid monthly visits was calculated with the Ahrefs Organic Traffic Score (OTS) tool. Data for paediatric hospitals were compared with the same metrics for the top ten Google search results.ResultsOf 95 paediatric hospitals, 29 (30.5%) did not have at least one web page dedicated to clubfoot. The 128 web pages representing 66 paediatric hospitals had an average CGL of 9.4, representing a readability level requiring some high school education. The mean OTS for all paediatric hospitals was 116 estimated visits per month, which was significantly less than that for the top ten Google clubfoot search results (3035.1; p < 0.0001).ConclusionPaediatric hospital web pages on clubfoot were visited much less frequently than those from the top ten Google search results. Only two web pages (1.6%) from paediatric hospitals offered OPI on clubfoot that met the American Medical Association recommended reading level (sixth-grade level). Paediatric hospitals should create OPI on clubfoot with appropriate readability and accessibility for patient families.Level of EvidenceN/A

Hospitals’ Web Site Lists of Their Interventional Pain Procedures Inadequately Reflect the Diversity of Their Actual Pain Medicine Practices

Background Multidisciplinary chronic pain management includes many types of interventional pain procedures. However, navigating the landscape of providers offering such services is challenging. Objective We investigated whether stakeholders (e.g., patients, referring physicians, hospital administrators, nurses working for insurance companies, and state officials) could accurately judge the diversity of interventional services actually provided based on information gathered from hospital Web sites. Study design This was an observational cohort study. Setting All 119 nonfederal hospitals in Iowa were included in the study. Methods We recorded the publicly available data presented on all hospital Web pages related to interventional pain procedures. We counted the listed types of procedures and numbers of pain medicine physicians portrayed. We compared those results with actual performed interventional pain procedures calculated using contemporaneous data from the Iowa Hospital Association. The diversity of types of procedures performed was quantified using the inverse of the Herfindahl index. Results No pain medicine physician was identified on the Web site for 87.4% of hospitals. Such hospitals accounted for 61.4% of the interventional pain procedures performed statewide. The partial Kendall correlation between the count of types of procedures listed on Web sites and the number of pain medicine physicians, controlling for the performed procedures during the year, was too small to be informative: 0.22 (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.07 to 0.38; P = .005). The one-sided upper confidence limit that included 0.50 (i.e., moderate) was the 99.98% limit. The partial correlation between the count of types of procedures listed on Web sites and the actual diversity of types of procedures performed, controlling for the performed procedures during the year, was not statistically significant: 0.12 (95% CI, -0.03 to 0.28; P = .12). The partial Kendall correlation between the number of pain medicine physicians listed on the Web sites and the diversity of types of procedures performed was not significant: 0.03 (95% CI, -0.13 to 0.19; P = .73). Limitations This study was limited to the state of Iowa, where we found that 38.6% of interventional pain procedures were performed at hospitals with at least one pain medicine physician. The 38.6% is substantively less than the corresponding estimate of 54.2% for the state of Florida. The estimate of 38.6% exceeds the estimate of 30.4% for critical access hospitals in the United States nationwide. Although the heterogeneity is as expected, it shows that findings are likely to be heterogeneous across regions. Conclusions Stakeholders could not have accurate awareness of the spectrum of services provided by multidisciplinary pain medicine clinics and physicians based on currently reported data, even if they sought it out from publicly available information. Transparency will need to come from pain medicine physicians, at facilities providing the full diversity of services, releasing quantitative data about the services that they provide (e.g., counts by procedure).

CT-152: Application of Web-Scraping Techniques for Autonomous Massive Retrieval of Hematologic Patients' Information During SARS-CoV2 Pandemic

ContextData collection involving a large number of patients is usually known as a tedious and time-consuming task by healthcare professionals. Current patient load makes collecting clinical data almost impossible even though we need that information more than ever.ObjectiveWe wanted to deploy a system that automatically and autonomously retrieves clinical data from our patients suffering from SARS-CoV2 that arrive at hospital admission to collect that information for further analysis.DesignWe designed a daemon in PHP programming language connected to a MySQL MariaDB database that continuously searches for new patients consulting at hospital. We collected medical history, disease records, regular medication, physical exploration, vital signs, blood chemistry and count, and finally, microbiology testing of SARS-CoV2 (both PCR and ELISA antibody testing). As we don't have access to any API service (out-of-the-box connection to the data mainframe), we took advantage of web-scraping (brute-force data extraction from webpages using HTTP protocol) applied to our hospital web interface.SettingMonitoring was made between 1st March, 2020 and 15th April, 2020 (during worst Coronavirus outbreak phase of the country), using only one computer connected to the hospital network. The number of patients identified was 259, each one with 344 clinical and testing variables.ResultsUsing this technique, we collected data of 259 hematologic patients without human intervention and more than 300 variables have been analyzed. Nowadays, manual revision of certain aspects of the database (e.g., comorbidities) is needed and some data needs to be manually entered due to the lack of proper codification. In the future, with the development of semantic-matching technologies, fully autonomous building of the databases will be possible. In the meantime, our technique can solve the capture of enormous amount of clinical information without effort. With that information, observational studies, even a prognosis score using machine learning, have been developed in our center.ConclusionsData collection for further analysis is usually a vital, but time-consuming, task in order to answer clinical questions. We developed a technique that helped our center retrieve patients' clinical information autonomously during the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic.

Charity Care Characteristics and Expenditures Among US Tax-Exempt Hospitals in 2016

Objectives. To examine content of financial assistance polices (FAPs) among US tax-exempt hospitals and determine whether restrictive policies were associated with reduced charity care spending.Methods. Using hospital tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service in 2016 and FAPs obtained from hospital Web sites, we examined characteristics of FAPs and associated expenditures for charity care in a representative sample of 170 tax-exempt hospitals. We identified common eligibility requirements and used them to define restrictiveness of FAPs.Results. FAPs were characterized by various ways to exclude patients, a patchwork of coverage for typical health care services, and wide-ranging discounts. FAP expenditures were lowest among restrictive hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act and highest among nonrestrictive hospitals in nonexpansion states. FAP expenses did not differ by hospital restrictiveness alone.Conclusions. Standardizing common eligibility requirements among FAPs carries potential benefits with regard to optimizing charity care for community benefit and achieving at least some level of equity; however, further policy efforts must account for additional restrictions, charges, and exclusions to be effective.

Availability and Readability of Online Patient Information on Osteosarcoma: Assessment of Pediatric Hospital and National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center (NCIDCC) Osteosarcoma Web Pages.

Background:Online patient information (OPI) plays an important role in pediatric orthopaedic patient/caregiver education and decision-making. We assessed the availability and readability of OPI about osteosarcoma found at pediatric hospital and U.S. National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center (NCIDCC) websites.Methods:The websites of all NCIDCCs and the top 50 pediatric hospitals identified using U.S. News & World Report were included. The names of NCIDCCs and pediatric hospitals along with the terms “osteosarcoma,” “bone sarcoma,” and “sarcoma” were entered into Google.com, and were classified according to the availability of osteosarcoma-specific web pages. Unpaid monthly visits were assessed using the Ahrefs.com Organic Traffic Score (OTS) metric. Readability was assessed using 5 validated metrics and the composite grade level (CGL), the rounded mean of the 5 metrics.Results:Of the 71 NCIDCCs and 50 pediatric hospitals, 48 (67.6%) and 18 (36.0%), respectively, did not have at least 1 web page dedicated to osteosarcoma-specific OPI. The mean OTS for all 116 NCIDCC and pediatric hospital osteosarcoma-specific web pages assessed was 177 estimated visits per month, which was less than the mean OTS for the top 10 Google.com “osteosarcoma” search results (3,287.9; p < 0.001). The 52 NCIDCC web pages with osteosarcoma OPI (representing 23 centers) had an average CGL of 12.9, representing a readability level of at least a high school degree. The mean CGL for the 64 pediatric hospital web pages with osteosarcoma OPI (representing 32 hospitals) was 12.8, also representing readability of at least a high school degree. Only 8 (12.5%) of the 64 web pages were written at a seventh or eighth-grade level.Conclusions:Taken together, the majority of NCIDCCs and pediatric hospitals did not have a dedicated page of OPI for osteosarcoma. Of those that did, NCIDCC and pediatric hospital sites were visited much less frequently than sites visited through the most common Google.com searches. None of the osteosarcoma web pages offering OPI from NCIDCCs and pediatric hospitals met the American Medical Association readability recommendation (sixth-grade reading level). Therefore, greater effort must be made to create and direct patients and parents toward high-quality OPI of the appropriate level.Clinical Relevance:The clinical relevance of this study lies in its evaluation of OPI and its ability to impact the patient experience of clinical care.

NICU Graduate Reunion: "A Celebration of Life".

Few understand the experience of having an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This article provides a discussion about the importance of an annual reunion for former NICU infants, their families, and neonatal staff. The purpose of this article is to explain the impact of the NICU reunion on families and neonatal healthcare providers and describe the experience of organizing this reunion over the past 20 years. This is a description of how a NICU reunion was organized at a regional neonatal center. Graphic-designed invitations were e-mailed to NICU graduates, who previously agreed to being contacted, 2 months prior to the reunion date. Social media were utilized to publicize the event on the hospital's Web site. At the reunion, parents and families introduced their NICU graduate to the neonatal staff who cared for them while hospitalized. Sometimes staff found it difficult to recognize the NICU graduates, who were toddlers or older. Parents were relaxed, expressing their appreciation for care received. The impact of seeing an infant, born at 24 weeks, now walking, talking, and running cultivates pride in the NICU healthcare team. The reunion adds a positive dimension to the work of NICU caregivers. Parents look forward to attending the reunion to reconnect with NICU staff and other NICU parents. Directions for future study include a comparison of staff and families who attend the NICU reunion and those who do not, by using a survey or online evaluation tool, to improve future reunions.

The comparison of readability between information texts from web sites of private clinics and private hospitals

Aim: Rhinoplasty is a surgery which can be done in state hospitals, private hospitals and private clinics. Patients gen-erally go to the most suitable clinic whereas most surgeons prefer to perform surgery in private clinics. Thus, patients often confuse where to attend. Social media plays a crucial role for patients to decide where and who to choose. We compared readability of the information text from internet pages of private clinics and private hos-pitals from both plastic surgeons and otorhinolaryngologists.Material and Methods: The word “Rhinoplasty” was searched through internet and first 30 web sites were taken into account. First 100 words from information texts about rhinoplasty from both private clinic and hospital web sites were copied and studied using a program called LIDA. Gunnig-Fog index, Flesch-Kincaid and Atesman values were noted and evaluated.Results: The readability of both private hospitals and private clinics were found to be hard. Flesch-Kincaid values showed that information texts from private clinics in web sites (23.24 ± 3.45) were significantly different (p=0,035) than private hospitals (25,19 ± 3,5). As believed to be more specific to Turkish, Atesman values in private clinics (48,58 ± 16,71) were found to be more readable than private hospitals (38.81 ± 18.06) (p=0,034).Conclusion: Comparison of information texts between private clinics and private hospitals of plastic surgeons and otorhino-laryngologists showed that Atesman values, which are believed to be more specific to Turkish, and Flesch-Kincaid values were significantly high in private clinics suggesting it is easier to understand. To sum it up, infor-mation texts guide patients to private critics.

Veteriner Fakültesi Hastanesi Web Sayfaları: Etik Açıdan Bir Araştırma

Veteriner Fakültesi Hastanesi Web Sayfaları: Etik Açıdan Bir Araştırma

Cancer-Related Internet Use and Online Social Networking Among Patients in an Early-Phase Clinical Trials Clinic at a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

We examined patterns, correlates, and the impact of cancer-related Internet use among patients with advanced cancer in a phase I clinical trials clinic for molecularly targeted oncologic agents. An anonymous questionnaire on Internet use for cancer-related purposes that incorporated input from phase I clinical trial oncologists and patients was self-administered by patients age ≥ 18 years in a phase I clinic. Multivariable modeling was used. Data were analyzed for the overall sample and by generation, which was defined by year of birth. Of 291 patients (52% women, 82% non-Hispanic white, 50% age ≤ 60 years), 62% were cancer-related Internet users (CIUs). Cancer-related Internet use was associated with an income of ≥ $60,000 (odds ratio, 2.42; P = .004). CIUs used the Internet to learn about their cancer (85%), treatment adverse effects (65%), clinical trials (52%), new alternative treatments (42%), and symptom management (41%). CIUs most frequently used the hospital Web site (70%) to learn about clinical trials, followed by ClinicalTrials.gov (42%) and search engines (41%). The emotional impact of Internet-derived cancer information on CIUs varied-56% felt empowered, 34% anxious, 29% relieved, and 17% confused. Cancer-related Internet information made 51% of patients from the Millennial (born after 1990) and Generation X/Y (born 1965 to 1990) CIU populations anxious compared with < 29% of CIUs from older generations (born 1964 and before). Most CIUs desired more online information about new experimental drugs (91%) and US Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for cancer (72%). As most phase I patients use the Internet for cancer-related purposes, the Internet overall and hospital Web sites should provide more extensive, pertinent, and helpful information on clinical trials and cancer treatment to phase I patients.