Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. May 18, 2022; 13(5): 472-480
Published online May 18, 2022. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v13.i5.472
What factors are important to new patients when selecting an orthopedic oncologist?
Charles A Gusho, Vishal Patel, Linus Lee, Alan T Blank
Charles A Gusho, Vishal Patel, Linus Lee, Alan T Blank, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
Author contributions: Gusho CA and Patel V contributed to the data collection, analysis, interpretation, drafting, editing, and revision; Lee L contributed to the interpretation, drafting, editing, and revisions; Blank AT contributed to the conception, oversight, editing, and revision.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Rush University Medical Center Institutional Review Board (Approval No. 20072108).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Blank AT is Editorial or governing board of BMJ Case Reports, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Journal of Oncology Practice, Lancet – Oncology, Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Rare Tumors, and Rush Orthopedic Journal; stock or stock options for exparel/pacira; ad hoc reviewer of Journal of Surgical Oncology; board or committee member of Musculoskeletal Tumor Society; Paid consultant of Onkos Surgical; receives research support from Swim Across America Cancer Research Grant; and all other authors have no pertinent financial disclosures or pertinent conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Linus Lee, BSc, Research Fellow, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, 1611 W Harrison St, Ste 300, Chicago, IL 60612, United States. linus.h.lee@gmail.com
Received: October 12, 2021
Peer-review started: October 12, 2021
First decision: March 7, 2022
Revised: March 16, 2022
Accepted: April 22, 2022
Article in press: April 22, 2022
Published online: May 18, 2022
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

There have been efforts to elucidate what factors patients use to select medical oncologists and orthopedic surgeons, but no studies have specifically investigated the patient selection factors for orthopedic oncologists.

Research motivation

Better understanding what factors patients deem important in their process of selecting a physician may allow for better tailoring of a clinical practice.

Research objectives

This study aimed to identify the factors that patients deem important in selecting an orthopedic oncologist with whom to establish care.

Research methods

All new patients presenting to an orthopedic oncology clinic were invited to complete an anonymous survey consisting of 27 questions that identified patient demographic factors, patient social media utilization, and patient identified factors on a Likert scale that are important to selecting an orthopedic oncologist.

Research results

The most important factor for patient selection overall was a good reputation of the hospital. Other important factors were the number of years in practice of the orthopedic oncologist, referral from the patient's primary care provider, and how other patients rated the surgeon. Social media and Internet presence of the surgeon was more important to patients under the age of 40 and those over the age of 60 felt it more important that the surgeon work in an academic center.

Research conclusions

Strong hospital reputation, primary care referral, and physician reputation were among the strongest selection factors among patients. While hospital reputation may not be adjustable by the individual orthopedic oncologist, it appears important for surgeons to network with primary care providers to increase referrals in order to grow one's practice.

Research perspectives

Future studies could investigate selection factors for patients who come to orthopedic oncology for second opinions after having been evaluated elsewhere.