Smarrito S, Mitrofanoff M, Haddad R, Pavy B
Chirurgie pédiatrique B, hôpital Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, 82 avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75674 cedex 14, Paris, France.
Ann Chir Plast Esthet. 2003 Aug;48(4):222-7. doi: 10.1016/s0294-1260(03)00073-6.
Convergence of medicine and Internet may be one of the most remarkable transformations in the health care business. Following the path led by the United States, the number of French websites related to cosmetic surgery is growing rapidly. In this study, we intend to assess the quality of French websites dedicated to cosmetic surgery regarding good quality criteria currently available and recommendations suggested by the French Medical Association.
We browsed the main French search engines on the Web that initially answering the following question: how many webpages are available regarding cosmetic surgery and what are the best referenced websites. For each website, we surveyed the following data: author's name and qualification, date of creation and last update, sources of information, level of interactivity, and adherence to a chart of quality such as HON.
Eighty-five websites were surveyed and assessed. Forty-five French websites were active websites dedicated to cosmetic surgery. Websites are mainly hosted by private clinics (18 sites = 40%), with informative content. We found that no website adheres to any chart of quality, and the French Society for Plastic Surgery (SOF.C.P.R.E.) is never mentioned. Intrinsic quality criteria for websites (author's identification, last update, sources of information, confidentiality) are only partially present.
We recall the key statistics regarding e-health business in the world, the various charts of quality available for medical websites, and recommendations provided by the French Medical Association. We suggest that websites should be available as a service (for information to the patient, for managing the office, for setting up medical records) rather than a poor personal webpage or a showcase.
The quality of websites for cosmetic surgery is poor; however, as in the USA, the number of web surfers on medical sites is growing. Online presence of our speciality should evolve. To improve medical websites, collective awareness is required. We recommend using a specific chart of quality, with recommendations rather than constraints.
医学与互联网的融合可能是医疗保健行业最显著的变革之一。沿着美国引领的道路，法国与整容手术相关的网站数量正在迅速增长。在本研究中，我们打算根据目前可用的优质标准以及法国医学协会提出的建议，评估法国整容手术网站的质量。
我们浏览了法国主要的网络搜索引擎，最初回答以下问题：有多少关于整容手术的网页，哪些是被引用最多的网站。对于每个网站，我们调查了以下数据：作者姓名和资质、创建日期和最后更新日期、信息来源、互动程度以及是否符合诸如HON等质量图表。
共调查和评估了85个网站。45个法国网站是专门用于整容手术的活跃网站。网站主要由私人诊所托管（18个网站 = 40%），具有信息内容。我们发现没有网站符合任何质量图表，法国整形外科学会（SOF.C.P.R.E.）从未被提及。网站的内在质量标准（作者身份识别、最后更新、信息来源、保密性）仅部分存在。
我们回顾了全球电子健康业务的关键统计数据、医学网站可用的各种质量图表以及法国医学协会提供的建议。我们建议网站应作为一种服务提供（用于向患者提供信息、管理办公室、建立医疗记录），而不是一个质量不佳的个人网页或展示平台。
整容手术网站的质量较差；然而，与美国一样，医疗网站的网络浏览者数量正在增加。我们这个专业的在线形象应该有所发展。为了改善医学网站，需要集体意识。我们建议使用特定的质量图表，提出建议而非强制要求。
