One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites

Background:. There is an increasing trend of nonplastic surgeons performing breast surgery. Within, we evaluate the representation of plastic surgeons listed for breast reconstruction on major hospital system websites within the United States. Methods:. The website search engines for the top 20 US m...

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Main Authors: Nikhi P. Singh, MD, MBA, Carter J. Boyd, MD, MBA, Akshay Aluri, BS, Stefan Kovac, BS, Bipul Mainali, BS, Abdias Girardi, BS, Riley Duke, BS, Timothy W. King, MD, PhD, Jorge de la Torre, MD, MSHA
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer 2023-01-01
Series:Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open
Online Access:http://journals.lww.com/prsgo/fulltext/10.1097/GOX.0000000000004781
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author Nikhi P. Singh, MD, MBA
Carter J. Boyd, MD, MBA
Akshay Aluri, BS
Stefan Kovac, BS
Bipul Mainali, BS
Abdias Girardi, BS
Riley Duke, BS
Timothy W. King, MD, PhD
Jorge de la Torre, MD, MSHA
author_facet Nikhi P. Singh, MD, MBA
Carter J. Boyd, MD, MBA
Akshay Aluri, BS
Stefan Kovac, BS
Bipul Mainali, BS
Abdias Girardi, BS
Riley Duke, BS
Timothy W. King, MD, PhD
Jorge de la Torre, MD, MSHA
author_sort Nikhi P. Singh, MD, MBA
collection DOAJ
description Background:. There is an increasing trend of nonplastic surgeons performing breast surgery. Within, we evaluate the representation of plastic surgeons listed for breast reconstruction on major hospital system websites within the United States. Methods:. The website search engines for the top 20 US medical centers according to the US News and World Report’s Hospital Rankings from 2020 to 2021 were queried for search terms pertaining to breast reconstruction. Information collected for search results included gender, if they were a physician, medical specialty, medical school and residency attended, and each individual’s position within the search results. Results:. Across 80 distinct search attempts, 27 searches (34%) produced no results. The search term “breast reconstruction” yielded the most plastic surgeon search results, with plastic surgeons composing 39% of all search results. The search term “mastectomy” generated the least number of plastic surgeon results, with a 16% representation of plastic surgeons. Nearly two-thirds of physicians identified were nonplastic surgeons (67%). Other surgeons represented 47% of search results and obstetricians/gynecologists, 2%. Nonsurgeons represented 18% of queries. On average, plastic surgeons appeared higher on search lists than nonplastic surgeons, 13th to 39th, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusions:. Plastic surgeons composed only a third of physicians identified, and a third of searches produced no results. Patients interested in breast reconstruction may encounter difficulty finding an appropriate plastic surgeon. Inadequate search engines on hospital websites introduce inefficiencies for the entire health care systems and may negatively impact hospital and physician bottom line.
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spelling doaj.art-d6d4df011f2b4b37bdd97101e7f5ff8d2023-02-01T06:05:03ZengWolters KluwerPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open2169-75742023-01-01111e478110.1097/GOX.0000000000004781202301000-00055One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital WebsitesNikhi P. Singh, MD, MBA0Carter J. Boyd, MD, MBA1Akshay Aluri, BS2Stefan Kovac, BS3Bipul Mainali, BS4Abdias Girardi, BS5Riley Duke, BS6Timothy W. King, MD, PhD7Jorge de la Torre, MD, MSHA8From the * Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Ind.† Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone, New York, N.Y.‡ Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.‡ Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.‡ Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.‡ Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.‡ Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.§ Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Ill.‖ Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.Background:. There is an increasing trend of nonplastic surgeons performing breast surgery. Within, we evaluate the representation of plastic surgeons listed for breast reconstruction on major hospital system websites within the United States. Methods:. The website search engines for the top 20 US medical centers according to the US News and World Report’s Hospital Rankings from 2020 to 2021 were queried for search terms pertaining to breast reconstruction. Information collected for search results included gender, if they were a physician, medical specialty, medical school and residency attended, and each individual’s position within the search results. Results:. Across 80 distinct search attempts, 27 searches (34%) produced no results. The search term “breast reconstruction” yielded the most plastic surgeon search results, with plastic surgeons composing 39% of all search results. The search term “mastectomy” generated the least number of plastic surgeon results, with a 16% representation of plastic surgeons. Nearly two-thirds of physicians identified were nonplastic surgeons (67%). Other surgeons represented 47% of search results and obstetricians/gynecologists, 2%. Nonsurgeons represented 18% of queries. On average, plastic surgeons appeared higher on search lists than nonplastic surgeons, 13th to 39th, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusions:. Plastic surgeons composed only a third of physicians identified, and a third of searches produced no results. Patients interested in breast reconstruction may encounter difficulty finding an appropriate plastic surgeon. Inadequate search engines on hospital websites introduce inefficiencies for the entire health care systems and may negatively impact hospital and physician bottom line.http://journals.lww.com/prsgo/fulltext/10.1097/GOX.0000000000004781
spellingShingle Nikhi P. Singh, MD, MBA
Carter J. Boyd, MD, MBA
Akshay Aluri, BS
Stefan Kovac, BS
Bipul Mainali, BS
Abdias Girardi, BS
Riley Duke, BS
Timothy W. King, MD, PhD
Jorge de la Torre, MD, MSHA
One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Global Open
title One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites
title_full One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites
title_fullStr One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites
title_full_unstemmed One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites
title_short One in Three Chance of Finding A Plastic Surgeon on Major Hospital Websites
title_sort one in three chance of finding a plastic surgeon on major hospital websites
url http://journals.lww.com/prsgo/fulltext/10.1097/GOX.0000000000004781
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