Research: From the Literature

Medical Design Concepts recognizes the increasing use of the Internet by clinicians and their patients. There is significant evidence in the literature supporting this trend, and indicating the continued importance of the Internet in how patients access healthcare information and how clinicians communicate information. There is ample evidence that an informative, comprehensive medical practice website complements the clinical services offered by the practice and enhances patient satisfaction.

The features and design of MDC websites reflect what patients and clinicians want in a medical practice website. This is based on a thorough review of the literature, as well as extensive input from a sampling of consumers and clinicians. Consumer healthcare marketing is a dynamic area, and MDC continually monitors trends and gathers feedback to enhance our services and satisfy our clients.

Key findings from the literature are summarized below.

Please note that research documents can be viewed in their entirety by clicking on document titles—these links will lead you to the websites of the original publishing organizations.

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Pew Internet and American Life Project
How Internet users decide what information to trust when they or their loved ones are sick (PDF format*)

In a national survey, the Pew Internet Project found that 62% of Internet users, or 73 million people in the United States, have gone online in search of health information…Disease information, material about weight control, and facts about prescription drugs top the list of interests for health seekers. We also see big increases in use of the Internet for mental health information and sensitive medical topics. The list below suggests the variety of things health seekers do online. We also asked for the first time about alternative medicine and saw that substantial numbers of Internet users go online for such material.  

• 93% of health seekers have gone online to look for information about a particular illness or condition
• 65% of health seekers have looked for information about nutrition, exercise, or weight control
• 64% of health seekers have looked for information about prescription drugs
• 55% of health seekers have gathered information before visiting a doctor
• 48% of health seekers have looked for information about alternative or experimental treatments or medicines
• 39% of health seekers have looked for information about a mental health issue such as depression or anxiety (up from 26% in August 2000)
• 33% of health seekers have looked for information about a sensitive health topic that is difficult to talk about (up from 16% in August 2000)
• 32% of health seekers have looked for information about a particular doctor or hospital

Harris Interactive/AriA Marketing
Healthcare Satisfaction Study  (PDF format*)

• Consumers are actively seeking information about healthcare and are using the Internet as a major tool in this effort. Of all respondents, 76 percent said they have searched the Internet for healthcare information, and 39 percent said they use the Internet to search for healthcare information at least once per month. When asked what information sources they would use, assuming all these sources were available, consumers indicated they would use both information from their doctor and information from the Web.
• Based on the survey results, 43 percent of online consumers would select their doctor based on the availability of Internet systems...These results indicate that patients are looking for ways to extend their use of the Internet for healthcare purposes other than simply researching medical information…Not only are patients open to using the Internet, they are beginning to look for physicians and health plans that do.
• Physicians who begin offering Internet-based tools for their patients will be expanding their options for meeting their patients’ communications needs and breathing new life into the physician-patient relationship… Getting answers to their questions is a key communications problem for patients, and one they see that could be remedied by greater use of the Internet by their physicians.
• Patients want their physicians to get online, according to both the survey results and the focus group discussion. Online access to physicians could efficiently extend the doctor visit in a variety of ways. According to the survey, 67 percent of online consumers would likely use email to ask their doctor a question if the option were available to them. Patients also considered the ability to communicate from any location at any time to be highly desirable.

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Medscape **
Website Management is Vital to Practice Management  

• All practices must begin the planning with the question, "Why would a physician practice host a Web site"? Answers include: to publicize the practice, to respond to patients' interest, and to do what "everyone else seems to be doing." But building and hosting a Web site is an advantage only if the audience can easily access your site and if your site complements your practice.
• Because managed care may limit the time that physicians spend with patients, a clinical practice Web site must take into account patient needs - for example, clinic hours, types of insurance accepted, patient education tools, and so forth. The site must have a clear goal that is integral with the practice's mission and patients...A well-planned, informative site that is easy to navigate will benefit both the physician and patient.
• The physician's practice can also differentiate itself by making patients aware of useful online resources and providing links to those sites.

** Free registration to Medscape necessary to view article

American Medical Association
Guidelines for Physician-Patient Electronic Communications  

• Providing quality health care depends on the clinician’s ability to adequately communicate diagnosis and treatment programs, as well as furnish appropriate health education information. Written and verbal (face-to-face and telephone) communications have traditionally been the primary mechanisms for communicating health information. However, with advances in technology, Internet applications for communications among physicians and between clinician and patient are emerging as another viable avenue for patient communication. E-mail has taken on increased significance as a mode of communication that is readily available to patients and health care professionals.
• Some frequently used educational handouts can be ported to an e-mailer template or formatted for the clinician’s home page on the World Wide Web….With the continued increased usage of computers and the Internet by individuals, e-mail can be a valid, simple, convenient, and inexpensive mechanism for communication. It can aid the health care delivery process by allowing written follow-up instructions, test results and dissemination of educational materials for patients, as well as, a means for patients to easily reach their physician on routine health matters.

Boston Consulting Group
Vital Signs: E-Health in the United States (PDF format*)

• Unlike other patient-care tools, it is demand by patients—rather than the promise of improved efficiency or care—that draws physicians to tools that let them communicate with their patients online. Among such tools are email and consultations conducted over the Internet. Indeed, a hefty 41 percent (of doctors) cited increasing patient satisfaction as their primary reason for communicating with patients online. On this front, the tools deliver extremely well, with 90 percent of doctors seeing improvement—and 24 percent seeing major improvement—in patient satisfaction as a result of engaging with patients online.
• Because online communication lets patients seek and receive advice outside the time-consuming constraints of a scheduled office visit, it allows them to address pressing issues as they arise. It also gives them a more active role—and their doctors greater input—in their health. In this way, the tools not only meet the needs of increasingly consumer-focused health care but also strengthen doctors’ relationships with their patients and let them treat conditions before they worsen. In combination, all these factors allow online communication to confer other benefits beyond patient satisfaction, such as helping physicians deliver better care (82 percent) and improving their overall efficiency (65 percent).

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Tufts Managed Care Institute
Patient Education and the Internet  (PDF format*)

• As patients learn how to access, research, and evaluate medical information, the traditional information gap between the patient and physician has begun to fade. Patients become more capable of making choices regarding their health care treatment options. The responsibility of physicians is to discern each patient’s sophistication with the Internet and ability to search and evaluate online health care information.
• Information from the Internet complements, rather than replaces, information provided by one’s physician. Surveys show that patients who use the Internet still prefer to receive health and medical information from their own physicians. When used appropriately, a patient’s computer research can actually save time during an appointment and increase the effectiveness of the physician’s diagnosis.

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