EVALUATION OF GREEK PUBLIC HOSPITAL WEBSITES

Fotini Patsioura, Spyros Kitsiou, Angelos Markos

2009

Abstract

Hospital web sites need to operate as effective web resources of information and interactive communication mediums to address the multifaceted requirements of their main stakeholders, (i.e. patients, healthy citizens, healthcare professionals and local communities). In case of public hospitals, web sites should also be considered as a mean to provide governmental electronic services. The main objective of this study is to provide an evaluation framework for hospital web sites. The proposed framework focuses on three main criteria: information, communication and electronic services. A total of 53 Greek hospital web sites within the Public Sector were evaluated based on a 67-item scale. The main findings of the study were the following: (a) the majority of the web sites in the analysis failed to support necessary web-based transactions between the institutions and their stakeholders (b) web sites are lacking important features regarding provision of information and communication practices. Improvements on interaction and information quality are necessary in order for the institutions to provide a viable and useful online environment for patients and citizens.

References

  1. Ancarani, A., 2005. Towards quality e-service in the public sector: The evolution of web sites in the local public service sector. Managing Service Quality, 15 (1), 6-23
  2. Bodkin, C. & Miaoulis, G., 2007. EHealth information quality and ethics issues: an exploratory study of consumer perceptions. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 1 (1), 27- 42.
  3. Boisvert, H. & Canon, M., 2006. Benchmarking web site functions. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 13 (1/2), 174-189
  4. Chronaki, C.E., A. Kouroubali, A., Stathopoulou, A., Roumeliotaki, Orphanoudaki, E., Esterle, L., Tsiknakis, M., 2007. Internet use for health and illness in Greece. Preliminary results of a European study on eHealth consumer trends. Archives of Hellenic Medicine, 24 (5), 440-457
  5. Cline, R.J.W. & Haynes, K.M., 2001.Consumer health information seeking on the Internet: the state of the art", Health Educ.Res.16 (6), 671-692
  6. European Commission,1998. Public Sector Information: A Key Resource for Europe. Green Paper on Public Sector Information in the Information Society, COM (98) 585
  7. Gallant, L., Irizarry, C. & Kreps, G.L., 2007. User-Centric Hospital Web Sites: A Case for Trust and Personalization. e-Service Journal, 5 (2), 5-26
  8. Gruca, T. & Wakefield, D., 2004. Hospital web sites : Promise and progress. Journal of Business Research, 57 (9), 1021-1025
  9. Hesse, B.W., Nelson, D.E., Kreps, G.L., Croyle, R.T., Arora, N.K., Rimer, B.K. & Viswanath, K. 2005, "Trust and Sources of Health Information: The Impact of the Internet and Its Implications for Health Care Providers: Findings From the First Health Information National Trends Survey", Arch Intern Med, 165 (22), pp. 2618-2624.
  10. Huntington, P., Nicholas, D., Gunter, B., Russell, C., Withey, R., & Polydoratou, P., 2004. Consumer trust in health information on the web. Aslib Proceedings, 56 (6), 373-382
  11. Jadad AR, & Delamothe T., 2003. From electronic gadgets to better health: where is the knowledge?. BMJ 2003;327: 300-1
  12. Keating, B., Rugimbana, R. & Quazi, A., 2003. Differentiating between service quality and relationship quality in cyberspace. Managing Service Quality, 13 (3), 217-232
  13. Lewers, C., 2003. Online Health: Hospitals connecting with Patients on the Cyberspace. Indiana Business Magazine. Issue August 2003.
  14. Liddell, J.,2005. Cancer-related web sites: a selective annotated guide. Reference Services Review, 33 (1), 123-134
  15. Llinas, G., Rodriguez-Inesta, D., Mira, J. Lorenzo, S., Aibar, C. 2008. A comparison of websites from Spanish, American, and British hospitals, Methods of Information in Medicine, 47 (2), 124-130.
  16. Lin, B., Umoh, D., 2002. E-healthcare: a vehicle of change. American Business Review, 20 (2), 27-32.
  17. Mukherjee, A., McGinnis, J. 2007. E-healthcare: an analysis of key themes in research. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 1(4), 349-363
  18. Norum, J. 2001, "Evaluation of Norwegian cancer hospitals' Web sites and explorative survey among cancer patients on their use of the Internet", J Med Internet Res, 3 (4), e30.
  19. Randeree, E. & Rao, H.R., 2004. E-Health and Assurance: Curing Hospital Web Sites, International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, 1 (1), 33-46
  20. Zeithaml,V., Parasuraman, A, & Malhotra, A., 2002. Service quality delivery through web sites: A critical review of extant knowledge. Journal of Academy Marketing Science, 30 (4), 362-375
  21. Zingmond, D.S., Lim, Y.W., Ettner, S.L., & Carlisle, D.M. 2001. Information superhighway or billboards by the roadside? An analysis of hospital web sites. Western Journal of Medicine, 175(6), 385-391
Download


Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Patsioura F., Kitsiou S. and Markos A. (2009). EVALUATION OF GREEK PUBLIC HOSPITAL WEBSITES . In Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2009) ISBN 978-989-674-006-1, pages 223-229. DOI: 10.5220/0002194402230229


in Bibtex Style

@conference{ice-b09,
author={Fotini Patsioura and Spyros Kitsiou and Angelos Markos},
title={EVALUATION OF GREEK PUBLIC HOSPITAL WEBSITES},
booktitle={Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2009)},
year={2009},
pages={223-229},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0002194402230229},
isbn={978-989-674-006-1},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2009)
TI - EVALUATION OF GREEK PUBLIC HOSPITAL WEBSITES
SN - 978-989-674-006-1
AU - Patsioura F.
AU - Kitsiou S.
AU - Markos A.
PY - 2009
SP - 223
EP - 229
DO - 10.5220/0002194402230229