Table 2.
Reviewed websites and their information characteristics
| Websitea | Health Care Sector | Types of Informationb |
Classification of Integration Formatc |
Drill Down Paths | Information Display | Rationale for Presentation Formatsd |
| 1. Your Hospitals | Hospitals | B, C | 2 | No drill down paths, reports downloaded as PDF files | Words; numbers | - |
| 2. Hospital Report | Hospitals | B, C | 0 | No drill down paths, reports downloaded as PDF files | Numbers | - |
| 3. Sundhed | Hospitals | A, B, C | 0 (separate pages for different types of information); 2 (different types in one table by consumer choice) |
Drill down paths to same information per provider | Numbers; stars (5); capitals | - |
| 4. Weisse Liste | Hospitals (will include nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities in near future) |
A, B, C | 1 | Drill down paths to more specific information per hospital | Words; numbers; horizontal bars; round icons (favorites) | D, E, F |
| 5. Klinik Führer Rhein-Ruhr | Hospitals | A, B, C | 3 | Drill down paths to more specific information per hospital | Words; numbers; thermometers | - |
| 6. Klinikführer Rheinland | Hospitals | A, B | 3 | Drill down paths to more specific information per hospital | Words; numbers; traffic lights (3 colors); horizontal bars | D, E, F |
| 7. Hamburger Krankenhaus-spiegel | Hospitals | A, B | 0 | No drill down paths | Numbers; horizontal bars | - |
| 8.Klinikbe- wertungen |
Hospitals | A, C (anecdotal information) | 3 | Drill down paths to specific evaluations of patients | Numbers; stars (6); words | - |
| 9. Health Information and Quality | Hospitals | B | - | No drill down paths, reports downloaded as PDF files | Words in different colors (= symbols) | - |
| 10. kiesBeter | Hospitals, nursing homes, home care, outpatient mental health care, care for the handicapped, primary care, palliative care, health plans |
A, B, C | 0 and 2 (depending on health care sector); 3 (summary information) | Drill down paths to more detailed information | Words; numbers; capital letters; stars (3); stars (5); horizontal bars (1) | D, E, F |
| 11. Independer Gezondheids-zorg |
Hospitals, home care, primary care, physiotherapy, health plans | A, B, C | 3 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, stars (4), stars (5), round icons (colored), coins, horizontal bars | D, E, G |
| 12. Zorgkiezer | Hospitals, health plans | A, B | 3 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, stars (5), checkmarks | - |
| 13. Zorgbelang | Nursing homes, home care, care for the handicapped, outpatient mental health care | A (links to websites with B and C) | - | No drill down paths | Words | - |
| 14. Agis Zorggids | Contracted hospitals | A ,C | 0 | No drill down paths | Words, round icons (3) | E, F |
| 15. Menzis behandelwijzer | Contracted hospitals | A, B, C | 3 | No drill down paths | Words, numbers, stars (4), round icons (with certain degree of filling), plus icons (3) | F, G |
| 16. VGZ Zorggids -Vergelijk en kies | Contracted hospitals and other providers | A, B, C | 3 | No drill down paths | Words, numbers, squares (4) | - |
| 17. CZ Ziekenhuisver-gelijker | Contracted hospitals | A, B, C | 1 | No drill down paths | Words, numbers, stars (4), stars (5) | - |
| 18. AD Ziekenhuisver-gelijker | Hospitals | B, C | 2 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers | - |
| 19. Elsevier Beste Ziekenhuizen |
Hospitals | A, B | 3 | No drill down paths, reports downloaded as PDF files | Round icons (5, colored), horizontal bars | - |
| 20. Vaatpatient | Hospitals | A, B | 2 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Numbers, checkmarks | - |
| 21. Fritt Sykehusvalg Norge | Hospitals | A, B, C | 1 | Drill down paths to somewhat more detailed quality information | Numbers, words, symbols (-, +, 0) | - |
| 22. Dr. Foster | Hospitals, specialized clinics, complementary practitioners | A, B | 1 (with exception of distance) | Drill down paths to more specific information per hospital; selection options to obtain more detailed information | Words,numbers, horizontal bars, stars (5), squares (3) | - |
| 23. NHS choices | Hospitals | A, B, C | 3 (summary information); 1 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more detailed information; drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, round icons with words, stars (3), horizontal bars, squares (5) | - |
| 24. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, clinics guide |
Specialized clinics | A, B | 0 | No drill down paths | Words, numbers, horizontal bars, triangles (1) | - |
| 25. British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons | Plastic surgeons | A, B | 2 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, stars (1) | - |
| 26. Private Healthcare UK | Hospitals, doctors, GP’s, nursing homes, cosmetic surgery, dental care, health plans | A, B, C (anecdotal information) | 1 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, ribbons (1) | D |
| 27. Hospital Compare | Hospitals | A, B, C | 3 (summary information); 2 (after selection of hospitals) | Drill down paths to hospital location on map | Words, numbers, horizontal bars (1) | - |
| 28. The Leapfrog Group | Hospitals | B | - | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Vertical bars (4), horizontal bars (1) | - |
| 29. The Patient Advocate | Medical groups, hospitals, health plans | B, C | 3 (summary information); 0 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more detailed information | numbers, stars (4), horizontal bars (1), round icons with words and colors (5) | - |
| 30. Nursing Home Compare | Nursing homes | A, B | 0 (summary information); 2 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider; drill down paths to provider location on map; drill down paths to visual display in bar graphs | Words, numbers, cubes in bar (4), horizontal bars | - |
| 31. Home Health care Compare | Home care | A, B | 0 (summary information); 2 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to visual display in bar graphs | Words, numbers, checkmarks, horizontal bars | - |
| 32. Dialysis Facility Compare | Specialized centra | A, B | 0 (summary information); 1 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider; drill down paths to more detailed quality information; drill down paths to provider location on map | Words, numbers, horizontal bars, checkmarks | - |
| 33. Medicare Options Compare | Health plans | A, B, C | 0 (summary information); 3 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more specific information per health plan | Words, numbers, stars (5) | - |
| 34. U Compare Healthcare | Doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, health plans, mammography centers; fertility clinics | A, B | 1 | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, vertical bars (1), plus icons (1), checkmarks | - |
| 35. California Nursing Home Search | Nursing homes, home care, hospices | A, B | 3 (summary information); 1 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, stars (3) | D |
| 36. NCQA | Doctors, health plans | A, B, C | 3 (summary and detailed information) | Drill down paths to more detailed quality information; drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, stars (4), horizontal bars, certification symbols (1) | - |
| 37. US News Health | Hospitals, health plans | B, C | 0 (hospitals); 3 (health plans) | Drill down paths to more detailed information; drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, round colored icons (5), stars (5) | - |
| 38. AHD.com | Hospitals | A, (B and C only when for members) | 0 (summary and detailed information) | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider | Words, numbers, colored parts | - |
| 39. Health Care Choices | Hospitals (and doctors for pay) | A, links to B | - | No drill down paths | Words, numbers | - |
| 40. Quality Check | Hospitals, nursing homes, home care, outpatient mental health care | A, B | 1 (summary information); 0 (detailed information) | Drill down paths to more specific information per provider; drill down paths to more detailed information | Words, numbers, checkmarks, certification symbols (1), round icons (3) | - |
| 41. PHC4 | Hospitals, health plans | A, B, C | 3 (hospitals); 0 (health plans) | No drill down paths, reports downloaded as PDF files | Numbers, round icons (3) | F |
| 42. Aldre- guiden |
Care for the elderly | B | - | Drill down paths to more detailed quality information | Numbers, vertical bars | D, E, F |
aDescription based on website content in September 2008. Website content and presentation formats change over time. Therefore, the URLs have been archived (see Table 1).
bThis classification is based on Van Loon and Tolboom [20]: A = Factual information based on provider characteristics and services; B = Quality information based on performance indicators; C = Quality information based on health care user experience
c0 = no integration of different types of information (different types of information on different pages); 1 = limited integration of different types of information (different types of information can be selected and viewed on one page, but no integration in one table on one page); 2 = quite amount of integration of different types of information (different types on one page, but clearly separated from each other); 3 = high level of integration of different types of information (different types of information presented in one table, with or without action of the consumer).
dD = test(s) of different formats; E = existing scientific knowledge; F = expert opinion; G = other rationale