ArticleSexual medicine2021
Examining Online Traffic Patterns to Popular Direct-To-Consumer Websites for Evaluation and Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction.
Article in Sexual medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evolving trends in oral cancer burden in Europe: a systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Individual Perceptions of the Efficacy, Quality, and Safety of Sexual Health Care Delivered via a Direct-to-Consumer Telehealth Platform: Retrospective Analysis of Data From a Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Discordance Between Online Information and Male Hypogonadism Clinical Guidelines: A Global Multilingual Content Analysis.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Article
- Direct-to-Consumer Erectile Dysfunction Medications: is the Convenience Worth the Cost?Current urology reports · 2025Review
- Beyond the prescription: trends and challenges in erectile dysfunction medications among young adult men.International journal of impotence research · 2025Article
- Cost comparison of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors: rural vs urban New York State counties and online pharmacies.Sexual medicine · 2025Article
- Applications, benefits, and challenges of adopting teleurology: a scoping review.World journal of urology · 2025Article
- Quality and benefits of the erectile dysfunction information on websites, social-media, and applications.International journal of impotence research · 2024Review
- Evaluation and characterization of testosterone-related mobile health applications.International journal of impotence research · 2024Article
- Characteristics of men who use direct-to-consumer men's health telemedicine services.International journal of impotence research · 2023Article
- Contemporary cost-analysis comparison of direct-to-consumer vs. traditional prescriptions of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors.International journal of impotence research · 2023Article
- Online Traffic Analysis of Direct-to-Consumer Websites for Hair Loss Treatment and Characterization of Finasteride Patients on a Platform in Germany: A Potential Paradigm Shift in the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2023Article
- Assessment of Patient Risk Profiles by a Male Sexual Health Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Platform: A Cross-Sectional Study.Telemedicine reports · 2023Article
- Guideline-Discordant Care Among Direct-to-Consumer Testosterone Therapy Platforms.JAMA internal medicine · 2022Article
- Testosterone replacement therapy in the era of telemedicine.International journal of impotence research · 2022Review
- The Impact of Telemedicine on Sexual Medicine at a Major Academic Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Sexual medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDirect-to-consumer (DTC) Internet-based prescription and pharmacy platforms offer electronic consultation for evaluation and pharmacologic treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) without a physical exam or in-person visit, presenting a potentially dramatic shift in care for this condition.
aimTo characterize the extent to which DTC prescribing sites for ED generate traffic and attract individual users.
methodsUsing SEMRush, a marketing software platform that provides analytics regarding website traffic, we examined online site visits to 6 major DTC prescribing websites offering ED evaluation and treatment from October 2017 through December 2019. OUTCOMES: We recorded trends in the number of unique visitors over time, visitor referral patterns, and the proportion of overall visitors to individual sites.
resultsDuring the study period, the total number of unique, quarterly visitors increased by 1,688% from 655,733 in the 4th quarter (Q4) 2017 to over 11 million in Q4 2019. In 2019, there were on average 4,971,674 visits to all sites combined each month. For the 2 largest sites (Hims and Roman), visitors predominantly reached the site via direct web address (27.3%) or search engine referral (27.3%). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: An increasingly large number of potential patients are utilizing DTC prescribing platforms for the diagnosis and treatment of ED, which do not require physical exams or treatment of other comorbid conditions. STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS: Demonstrates high demand for ED DTC prescribing services using independent market research software and characterizes the number of visits for the first time. Limitations include the lack of individual demographics and lack of information regarding what proportion of unique visits lead to evaluation and treatment using the services.
conclusionThe dramatic increase in visits to DTC prescribing sites that treat ED represents a paradigm shift in ED care, and it is imperative that clinicians and researchers work to understand how patients utilize online telemedicine, the safety and efficacy of online management of ED, and the potential downstream implications of its widespread use. Wackerbarth JJ, Fantus RJ, Darves-Bornoz A, et al. Examining Online Traffic Patterns to Popular Direct-To-Consumer Websites for Evaluation and Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction. Sex Med 2021;9:100289.
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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.