Number of Hospitals With Web Sites Increases, New AHA Survey Says

Almost seven out of 10 U.S. hospitals maintained a Web site in 2001, up from six out of 10 in 2000, according to an American Hospital Association survey. Hospitals in New England and those in urban areas were most likely to have Web sites, AHA's Annual Survey of Hospitals found. Of the nine regions designated by AHA, 83% of New England hospitals had Web sites, compared with 54% of those in the Mountain region and 57% of those in the East South Central region. Seventy-five percent of urban hospitals maintained Web sites, while 59% of rural hospitals did, according to the survey. Larger hospitals also were more likely to have their own Web sites. Eighty-five percent of facilities with at least 500 beds and 86% of those with between 400 and 499 beds had sites, compared with 64% of hospitals with between 50 and 99 beds. Forty-three percent of hospitals with fewer than 25 beds had Web sites. Still, the number of facilities with Web sites increased for all hospitals regardless of size, AHA found (AHA News, 10/11). For more iHealth & Technology stories, visit iHealthBeat.org, a new Web publication sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation.