Wackerbarth Joel J, Fantus Richard J, Darves-Bornoz Annie, Hehemann Marah C, Helfand Brian T, Keeter Mary Kate, Brannigan Robert E, Bennett Nelson E, Halpern Joshua A
Section of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Surgery, NorthShore University Health System, Evanston, IL, USA.
Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Sex Med. 2021 Feb;9(1):100289. doi: 10.1016/j.esxm.2020.100289. Epub 2021 Jan 8.
Direct-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.
To characterize the extent to which DTC prescribing sites for ED generate traffic and attract individual users.
Using 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.
We recorded trends in the number of unique visitors over time, visitor referral patterns, and the proportion of overall visitors to individual sites.
During 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%).
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.
The 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.
基于互联网的直接面向消费者（DTC）的处方和药房平台提供电子咨询服务，用于评估和药物治疗勃起功能障碍（ED），无需进行体格检查或面对面就诊，这可能会给这种疾病的治疗带来巨大转变。
描述ED的DTC处方网站产生流量并吸引个体用户的程度。
我们使用SEMRush（一个提供网站流量分析的营销软件平台），调查了2017年10月至2019年12月期间访问6个提供ED评估和治疗的主要DTC处方网站的在线访问情况。
我们记录了随时间变化的独立访客数量趋势、访客推荐模式以及各个网站的总访客比例。
在研究期间，独立的季度访客总数增长了1688%，从2017年第四季度（Q4）的655,733人增加到2019年第四季度的超过1100万人。2019年，所有网站每月的平均访问量为4,971,674次。对于两个最大的网站（Hims和Roman），访客主要通过直接网址（27.3%）或搜索引擎推荐（27.3%）访问该网站。
越来越多的潜在患者正在利用DTC处方平台诊断和治疗ED，这些平台不需要体格检查或治疗其他合并症。
使用独立的市场研究软件证明了对ED的DTC处方服务有很高的需求，并首次描述了访问量。局限性包括缺乏个体人口统计学信息以及缺乏关于独立访问中有多大比例会导致使用这些服务进行评估和治疗的信息。
治疗ED的DTC处方网站访问量的急剧增加代表了ED治疗的范式转变，临床医生和研究人员必须努力了解患者如何使用在线远程医疗、ED在线管理的安全性和有效性以及其广泛使用可能产生的下游影响。Wackerbarth JJ、Fantus RJ、Darves-Bornoz A等。研究热门的直接面向消费者网站用于评估和治疗勃起功能障碍的在线流量模式。性医学2021；9：100289。
