title: [Internet presence of psychiatrists in private practice. Status, chances and legal framework].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physicians increasingly use home pages to call attention to their practice. Based on predefined criteria, this study examines the web presence of psychiatrists and medical psychotherapists in private practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  All registered psychiatrists and psychotherapists of six northern German states were examined in May 2010 with regards to existence and quality of their web presence. Homepages were evaluated by means of a standardized criteria catalogue with 42 items. Statistical analysis comprised descriptive and analytic approaches (ANOVA, linear models).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis included 956 physicians, 168 of whom (17.6%) had a web presence. More physicians in city states had a web presence as compared to those in states with larger territories. However, there was no difference between eastern and western states. Male as compared to female physicians more often possessed an Internet presence. The average score was 19 (± 5.2) out of 42 items, with practices with more than one physician scoring higher than single physician practices. Websites often contained general information about the practice, medical services and diseases, and rarely online services, professional information about the physician, access for disabled, emergency services and holiday substitution. Legal requirements were not sufficiently considered by more than half of the physicians.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Only a smaller number of psychiatrists and psychotherapists in private practice make use of their own web presence. The quality of information varies. The criteria catalogue used in this study may offer a guideline for development of a good quality Internet presence. A consensus Internet guideline with participation of physician chambers and medical societies would be of use to establish quality standards.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg, Germany. o.kuhnigk@uke.de
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kuhnigk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramuschkat
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schreiner
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reimer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D020407:Internet / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011331:Private Practice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*