Role of Social Media for Medical Oncologists and Medical Oncology Fellows (SMARTY): An Italian Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: The use of social media is transforming physician-patient communication, mainly in the field of medical oncology. The pattern of social media use by medical oncologists is poorly studied. Therefore, we developed a survey to understand the preferences, experiences, opinions, and expectations of Italian medical oncologists and oncology fellows regarding the use of social media in cancer medicine to identify the different profiles of social media users.

A marketing perspective to "delight" the "patient 2.0": new and challenging expectations for the healthcare provider.

Background: The study aims at investigating the characteristics and the satisfaction determinants of the emerging patient profile. This profile appears to be more demanding and "empowered" compared to the ones traditionally conceived, asking for unconventional healthcare services and for a closer relationship with providers.

Methods: Both qualitative (semi-structured interviews and focus groups) and quantitative (survey) analyses were performed on a random sample of 2808 Italian citizens-patients.

Patient web empowerment index (PWEI): an index for assessment of healthcare providers' web strategies. Case study: PWEI application in Italy.

The arrival of the Internet contributes to the growth of new areas for patient empowerment. In the presence of a challenge such as this, we nevertheless note that the adequacy and characteristics of the web strategies of healthcare providers have, up to the present, not been subjected to thoroughgoing critical analysis. The aim of this paper is to: (a) provide an analysis of the key factors of an efficient web strategy for healthcare organizations with regard to the issue of patient empowerment (b) build a concise indicator for measuring the degree of empowerment potential of healthcare providers' web sites (Patient Web Empowerment Index -PWEI-).