Original articleLeadershipStrengths and Deficiencies in the Content of US Radiology Private Practices’ Websites
Introduction
Communicating with health care providers is a key aspect of the patient experience. Robust communication not only improves patient satisfaction, as indicated by Press Ganey survey results [1], but also improves patient outcomes [2]. The Internet serves as an increasingly important mechanism for patient communication in health care, as patients seek information online to complement direct communications with their providers [3]. Patients use such online health information not only to learn of specific disease entities and treatments but also to gain familiarity with the physicians and practices providing their care. For example, patients may use patient ratings websites to access reviews of a given physician or facility 4, 5, as well as “transparency” websites to compare facilities in terms of measures of the cost and quality of care 6, 7. However, health care practices may also use their own practice websites to communicate directly with their patients, providing information regarding such topics as the practices’ physicians, conditions managed, and tests and treatments offered. When offering complete and accurate information that addresses patients’ most likely questions, such practice websites have the potential to improve the experience for patients seeking care.
The Internet may be of particular value as a means of patient communication for radiology practices. Patients often have an incomplete understanding of imaging examinations and have a desire for more information regarding scheduled imaging tests. For example, one study reported that outpatients commonly did not know whether their upcoming imaging examination entailed radiation as well as oral or intravenous contrast, had not received a satisfactory explanation of the test in advance, and had remaining unanswered questions [8]. In addition, patients often have a poor understanding of the role of radiologists in their medical care [9], potentially not knowing that radiologists are physicians or even not recognizing in the first place that dedicated individuals interpreted their imaging studies and provided the results to their referring physicians [8]. Also, after imaging studies, patients expect to be able to easily access their test results 10, 11. To address such issues, radiology practices can use their own practice websites to communicate with their patients, whether before or after an imaging study, and thereby enhance the patient experience as it relates to undergoing an imaging examination. We therefore conducted this study to assess the websites of US radiology private practices, with attention to the frequency of content of potential patient interest.
Section snippets
Methods
Because this study did not entail human subjects research, approval from the institutional review board was not required. The 50 largest private practice radiology facilities in the United States were identified from RadiologyBusiness.com [12]. One of these practices was excluded because it was a teleradiology practice solely providing professional services; the 51st listed practice was substituted in its place. A public website was identified for each of the included practices via Google
Results
Table 1 presents the frequency of each of the assessed factors for the 50 private practice radiology websites. Content regarding radiologists’ names, medical schools, residencies, fellowships, photographs, and board certification status; contact information for billing questions; and the ability to make online payments was present on 80% to 98% of websites. Content regarding examination preparation (eg, fasting or bloodwork), contrast agent use, examination duration, a general description of
Discussion
Physician-patient communication is an important determinant of patient satisfaction [13]. However, diagnostic radiologists generally do not directly interact with patients during routine imaging encounters. At the same time, radiology practice websites may serve as an alternative means for radiologists to communicate with their patients and convey valuable information. By taking advantage of this opportunity and providing complete and accurate online information, radiology practices can help
Take-Home Points
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Radiology practices’ websites most frequently provided information regarding their radiologists’ credentials, as well as billing and payment options.
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Information regarding quality, safety, and the examination experience, as well as non-payment-related online functionality (eg, online scheduling and report and image access) was less common.
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Our findings regarding the most common deficiencies of the practice websites may be useful for radiology practices in expanding their websites’ content,
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The authors have no conflicts of interest related to the material discussed in this article.