What patients see online: assessing the online identities of Pennsylvania dermatologists

Introduction: Patients use the internet to search for health-related information. We sought to characterize the information that patients find when searching for dermatologists on Google. Methods: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Comparable Downloadable File was utilized to identify all Medicare-participating dermatologists practicing in Pennsylvania (PA). A custom Google-based search engine was used to search each dermatologist. Up to the top 10 results for each physician were then sorted into: (1) physician, hospital, or healthcare system, (2) third-party, (3) social media, (4) academic journal articles, or (5) other. Results: Within the CMS, 519 health care providers (53.9% male, 46.1% female) self-identified as dermatologists practicing in PA. At least one search result was obtained for each physician (4,963 total search results). About 30.6% (1,519) search results were hospital, health system, or physician-controlled websites, and 26.6% (1,318) were third-party websites (1,318; 26.6%). Social media websites accounted for 601 (12.1%) hits whereas peer-reviewed academic journal websites generated 135 (2.7%) results. One-way chi-square analysis showed domains were not randomly distributed across the five categories (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Dermatologists should be better aware of their digital presence and the strategies to better control their online identity

The 100 most influential skin cancer publications: a citation analysis

Background: As skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., many publications focus on cutaneous malignancies. The objective was to identify and analyze the 100 most-cited articles pertaining to skin cancers to provide clarity on past, and insight for future research. Methods: Using a two-stage search of Thomson Reuters Web of Science database, the 100 most-cited skin cancer articles between 1945 and 2018 were identified and analyzed. Results: The articles were cited an average total of 558.49 times (range: 259 to 3429). There were relatively few significant publications until 1988. Linear correlation revealed that journal impact factor was not correlated with average number of citations per year per article (R2=0.06). Molecular pathogenesis and UV exposure were the most common topics. The topics that received the highest average citations per year per article were prevention (50.44 citations per year), diagnosis (47.32 citations per year), and management (41.37 citations per year). Basic science articles accounted for the most publications, followed by narrative literature reviews. Conclusions: These results may indicate that future publications with similar characteristics are more likely to be cited and thus, more influential

The 100 most influential skin cancer publications: a citation analysis

Background: As skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., many publications focus on cutaneous malignancies. The objective was to identify and analyze the 100 most-cited articles pertaining to skin cancers to provide clarity on past, and insight for future research. Methods: Using a two-stage search of Thomson Reuters Web of Science database, the 100 most-cited skin cancer articles between 1945 and 2018 were identified and analyzed. Results: The articles were cited an average total of 558.49 times (range: 259 to 3429). There were relatively few significant publications until 1988. Linear correlation revealed that journal impact factor was not correlated with average number of citations per year per article (R2=0.06). Molecular pathogenesis and UV exposure were the most common topics. The topics that received the highest average citations per year per article were prevention (50.44 citations per year), diagnosis (47.32 citations per year), and management (41.37 citations per year). Basic science articles accounted for the most publications, followed by narrative literature reviews. Conclusions: These results may indicate that future publications with similar characteristics are more likely to be cited and thus, more influential

What patients see online: assessing the online identities of Pennsylvania dermatologists

Introduction: Patients use the internet to search for health-related information. We sought to characterize the information that patients find when searching for dermatologists on Google. Methods: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Comparable Downloadable File was utilized to identify all Medicare-participating dermatologists practicing in Pennsylvania (PA). A custom Google-based search engine was used to search each dermatologist. Up to the top 10 results for each physician were then sorted into: (1) physician, hospital, or healthcare system, (2) third-party, (3) social media, (4) academic journal articles, or (5) other. Results: Within the CMS, 519 health care providers (53.9% male, 46.1% female) self-identified as dermatologists practicing in PA. At least one search result was obtained for each physician (4,963 total search results). About 30.6% (1,519) search results were hospital, health system, or physician-controlled websites, and 26.6% (1,318) were third-party websites (1,318; 26.6%). Social media websites accounted for 601 (12.1%) hits whereas peer-reviewed academic journal websites generated 135 (2.7%) results. One-way chi-square analysis showed domains were not randomly distributed across the five categories (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Dermatologists should be better aware of their digital presence and the strategies to better control their online identity