Website Committee Update

Joshua M. Pahys, MD
Website Committee Chair

The Website Committee has been working diligently to continue to improve the content and appearance of SRS.org this past year. We have taken a detailed look into every page of the site in order to eliminate dated or redundant information and improve the overall experience for the user. The website activity is regularly monitored using Google Analytics and Tag Manager to assess traffic patterns in an effort to target the most utilized pages for improvement. SRS.org has seen a nearly 20% rise in the number of new user visits this year. The Website Committee is collaborating with the Patient Education Committee to produce new patient centered videos, created by the patients themselves, to help answer common questions our members often receive from their patients/families. We are also excited to see the significant growing number of international visitors to SRS.org, which highlights the global reach of our Society.

The Website Committee worked with members of the Board, Presidential Line, and the global SRS community to produce two webinars related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first webinar featured members from seven countries spanning four continents to discuss their early experiences in managing patients and their practices at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and Europe. The second webinar discussed how to implement telemedicine and virtual communication into one’s practice. These two webinars have received over 1,000 views since being posted on the SRS YouTube channel. A COVID-19 Resource page was also created to include information for members as well as an online message board for members to pose questions and discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their practice.

The Website Committee will be launching our new “Ask a Doc” platform this summer thanks to the support of the SRS Board and Presidential Line. The site will feature the ability for patients and families to ask questions to SRS members. SRS staff members will vet queries prior to them being submitted to on-call SRS volunteers, and responses will be posted each week. We are grateful to the 25 SRS members who have volunteered their time and expertise, and will be able to provide responses in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Hindi.

The Genealogy Project will soon be getting a face-lift. This project launched in 2018 to highlight the SRS Founding Fellowships and their lineage as well as serve as a resource for members to connect with their training programs. The Website and Development Committees have proposed several updates to improve the visual appeal of the site and provide a more interactive experience for members.

While the Website Committee has made progress, our work is far from finished. We are compiling recommendations towards significant improvements to the Patients and Families site, which is our most visited section. We will continue to collaborate with our fellow SRS committees to shape SRS.org into a trusted and valued source of information for members, providers, and patients/families.

 

Chair: Joshua M. Pahys Committee: Todd Milbrandt, Past Chair; Robert P C Huang; Harold J.P. Van Bosse; Samuel K. Cho, CME; Teresa Bas, ERC; William A. Phillips, Patient Education; Baron S. Lonner, Education; Christof Birkenmaier (C); Jaysson T. Brooks (C); Arjun Dhawale (C); David E. Lebel (C); Naveed Nabizadeh (C); Kushagra Verma (C); Kwadwo Poku Yankey (C); Michelle S. Caird; George H. Thompson, Historian; Joseph P. Davey; Mark D. Locke; Denis Sakai; Cristina Sacramento-Dominguez, Chair Elect