SynthesisWorld journal of surgery2016
A Systematic Review of the Factors that Patients Use to Choose their Surgeon.
Synthesis in World journal of surgery, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- How Referring Providers Choose Specialists for Their Patients: a Systematic Review.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Pooled it
- The effectiveness of different patient referral systems to shorten waiting times for elective surgeries: systematic review.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Are patients willing to accept longer travel times to decrease their risk associated with surgical procedures? A systematic review.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Patient-Reported Perceptions and Barriers in Accessing Surgical Care in a Tertiary Healthcare Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study From Pakistan.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Gravity Modeling to Predict Patient Choice of Hospital for Pancreaticoduodenectomy.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- The Impact of Social Media for Adult Reconstruction Surgeons: A Prevalence Study With Online and Academic Reputations.Arthroplasty today · 2026Article
- What does the US public think of scoliosis: a comprehensive crowd-sourced study of perceptions about adult spinal deformity.Spine deformity · 2026Article
- Pediatric asthma specialist care utilization among marginalized children with poorly controlled asthma.The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma · 2026Article
- National race-based disparities in referral to Commission on Cancer centers for lung cancer resection.JTCVS open · 2026Article
- Selection Criteria For Ophthalmic Surgeons in Turkish Society: Artifıcial Intelligence Supported Survey Study.Beyoglu eye journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Ranking patients' non-clinical preferences in referring to specialist physicians in the private sector: a cross-sectional study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Article
- The Association Between Online Surgeon Ratings and Patients' Postoperative Outcomes in the United States.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2025Article
- Factors affecting general practitioners' referrals of patients to hip and knee arthroplasty: a focus group study from Northern Norway.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Retrospective cohort study of trends in the use of outpatient parathyroidectomy by surgical indication.Surgery · 2025Article
- Which spine surgery techniques are most appealing to the public? A survey examining public perception of spine surgery techniques and factors associated with procedure preference.North American Spine Society journal · 2025Article
- Article
- The Impact of Social Media for Hand Surgeons: A Prevalence and Correlation Study With Online and Academic Reputations.Journal of hand surgery global online · 2025Article
- Reallocation of chemotherapy appointments in a large health system using a mixed integer linear programming approach.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGiven surgery's inherent risks, a patient should be able to make the most informed decisions possible in selecting surgical treatment. However, there is little information on what factors patients deem important when choosing a surgeon. We performed a systematic review of the literature focused on how patients select surgical care, focusing on identification of factors that influence patient choice as well as important sources of information used by patients.
methodsA search of all available literature on factors associated with choice of surgeon/surgical care, as well as sources of information used by patients before undergoing surgery, was conducted using the MEDLINE/PubMed electronic database.
resultsOf the 2315 publications identified, 86 studies met inclusion criteria. Overall, patients draw upon a wide range of factors when choosing surgical care. Surgeon reputation and competency stood out as the most valued professional attributes. Patients also often selected surgeons based on their interpersonal skills. Many patients chose surgical care using hospital, rather than surgeon, characteristics. For these patients, hospital reputation and hospital distance were factors of primary importance. Importantly, most patients relied on word-of-mouth and physician referrals when choosing a surgeon. Patients also expressed interest in quality information on surgeons, indicating that these data would be useful in decision-making.
conclusionsPatients draw upon a myriad of factors when choosing a surgeon and the circumstances surrounding patients' decisions maybe differ based on sociodemographic, cultural, as well as other factors. Additional information on how patients choose surgeons or hospitals will help providers assist patients in finding their preferred caregivers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
26362880What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.