Do spine surgery patients research their surgeon ahead of outpatient visits?

ABSTRACT:

Background

The use of social media in spine surgery is becoming increasingly prevalent as patients aim to navigate the complex system of spine surgeons, physician networks, and hospitals. The purpose of this study is to gather data via surveys administered to spine surgery clinic patients in order to assess (I) differences in how often patients who are self-referred versus those who are referred to a spine surgeon by a primary care physician (PCP) or other physician/department use social media to search the spine surgeon prior to their first clinic visit; and (II) how often these searches result in a change in behavior in terms which spine surgeon a patient chooses to see.

Methods

This survey study was performed at an academic tertiary referral center's outpatient orthopedic

SUBMITTER: Upadhyay D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12775619 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature