Abstract Background– Google Trends (GT) assesses public interest in search terms using “Relative Search Volume” (RSV), which represents the proportion of searches for a term relative to total search activity. Objective– To analyze GT data for “Mohs surgery” to identify spatiotemporal trends and evaluate RSV as a potential proxy marker for Mohs surgery demand. Methods and Materials– GT was queried for data on “Mohs surgery” (2004-2024). RSV was correlated against demographic factors from the U.S. Census and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data for Mohs first-layers (codes 17311 and 17313). A novel metric for Mohs demand, the Mohs Relative Demand (MoRD), was created. Results- Interest in “Mohs surgery” increased over time. RSV correlated with urban population (p=0.046), white population (p=0.006), age over 65 (pConclusion- RSV serves as a valuable proxy for Mohs surgery interest, offering an alternative to traditional methods such as claims data analysis. MoRD provides insights on demand for surgery, highlighting potential unmet needs.
Nihal et al. (Mon,) studied this question.