What factors are important to new patients when selecting an orthopedic oncologist?

Table 1 Demographics of all responders

	n (%)
Age (yr), median (range)	66 (14-91)
Female	61 (60.4)
Male	39 (39.0)
Health insurance
Governmental	46 (45.5)
Employee	39 (38.6)
Private	14 (13.9)
Other	2 (2.0)
Highest schooling
Graduate or professional degree	39 (38.6)
College degree	36 (35.6)
Some college, no degree	15 (14.9)
Highschool or GED	7 (6.9)
No degree	3 (3.0)
Referral
Yes	63 (62.4)
No	38 (37.6)

Sum may not represent total cumulative count (n = 101).

Table 2 Utilization of social media and the Internet among all responders, n (%)

	Yes	No
Social media
Facebook	6 (5.9)	88 (87.1)
Twitter	4 (4.0)	90 (89.1)
Instagram	4 (4.0)	90 (89.1)
Internet
HealthGrades.com	13 (12.9)	80 (79.2)
RateMDs.com	9 (8.9)	84 (83.2)
Vitals.com	4 (4.0)	86 (85.1)
WebMD.com	13 (12.9)	80 (79.2)

Sum may not represent total cumulative count (n = 101).

Table 3 Comparison of selection factors between patients younger than 40 years of age and those older than 60 years of age

Selection factor	< 40 yr, mean (SD)	> 60 yr, mean (SD)	P value
Recommended by primary care provider	4.0 (1.5)	3.5 (1.7)	0.25
How other patients or friends rated the physician	4.26 (0.8)	3.48 (1.7)	0.056
Number of years of practice	3.95 (1.3)	3.8 (1.4)	0.745
The medical school attended	2.95 (1.2)	3.1 (1.4)	0.669
Works in an academic medical center	3.0 (1.5)	3.96 (1.4)	0.0141
The hospital has a good reputation	4.78 (0.5)	4.56 (1.0)	0.396
It was easy to make an appointment	4.11 (1.1)	3.81 (1.4)	0.402
They were in my insurance network	4.44 (1.1)	3.48 (1.6)	0.0191
The amount of dollars I have to pay out of pocket	3.67 (1.3)	2.24 (1.4)	< 0.0011
I could easily find the doctor on the Internet	3.33 (1.5)	2.44 (1.5)	0.0351
They had good online reviews	3.5 (1.4)	2.84 (1.7)	0.143
They had accessible social media pages	2.22 (1.4)	1.48 (0.9)	0.0161
They were locally advertised	1.94 (1.2)	1.57 (0.9)	0.167

¹Significant.

A mean value close to ‘5’ is considered most important.