Online physician ratings fail to predict actual performance on measures of quality, value, and peer review

Daskivich, Timothy J.; Houman, Justin; Fuller, Garth; Black, Jeffrey D.; Kim, Hyung L.; Spiegel, Brennan

doi:10.1093/jamia/ocx083

Cited by 69 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In a study of ophthalmologists, ophthalmologists who are highly cited (overall number of citations or Hirsch index) are not rated proportionately to their scientific achievements . In an observational study of 78 physicians in 8 medical and surgical specialties, online ratings did not predict objective measures of quality of care or peer assessment of clinical performance …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…12 In an observational study of 78 physicians in 8 medical and surgical specialties, online ratings did not predict objective measures of quality of care or peer assessment of clinical performance. 13 In a study of 3054 neurosurgeons, higher online ratings were associated with the ranking of the medical school they had attended, recent graduation, and having completed a fellowship. 14 In a study of reviews of 41,104 physicians from 10 of the largest United States cities, online patient ratings were significantly higher for family medicine, allergists, internal medicine, and pediatrics who were listed as a "Top Doctor" vs those who were not but not for neurologists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Negative Online Patient Reviews in Headache Medicine

Evans

2018

Headache

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Patients commonly use online reviews in selecting a new physician. There have been no studies of online reviews of headache medicine physicians. To better understand headache medicine physicians’ attitudes and opinions about negative reviews, 2 negative patient reviews were posted to the Southern Headache Society online discussion group and comments were requested. Twenty‐two anonymous comments are provided. The strengths and inadequacies of online physician reviews in other specialties and the possible actions headache medicine physicians should take for negative reviews are discussed. A nationwide survey of online reviews of headache medicine specialists would be of interest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative Online Patient Reviews in Headache Medicine

Evans

2018

Headache

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“…Positive effects include a more informed and supported parent, provision of more up‐to‐date advice and a more balanced parent‐clinician relationship . Negative effects discussed include the potential for OHIS to misguide parents the additional effort required from clinicians to discuss OHI and manage parental expectations, the increased possibility for conflict and responding to a sense of diminished trust from parents …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paediatric clinicians' experiences of parental online health information seeking: A qualitative study

Shervington

Wimalasundera

Delany

2019

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Aim: The aim of this research was to explore clinicians' experiences of parents' online health information seeking (OHIS) behaviour about selective dorsal rhizotomy for the management of cerebral palsy. Methods: Using qualitative methodology, clinicians likely to have had experience with parents requesting selective dorsal rhizotomy were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Interviews with 13 clinicians were recorded, transcribed and inductive content analysis was used to identify, code and organise the data into themes. Results: Participants highlighted how parental OHIS was changing clinical communication. Negative effects included a shift in clinicians' attention from giving advice and guidance to spending time discussing online findings, justifying how this information applies to a particular child and managing parents' judgments about clinical views. Positive effects included more collaboration and sharing of ideas. These results are presented in three main themes: (i) the informed parent; (ii) the clinicians' role; and (iii) a new clinical dynamic. Conclusion: This research reinforces the notion that OHIS is changing the communication dynamic and clinicians' and parents' roles within the clinical encounter. Of significance was the number of challenges clinicians are facing as a result of online information, including managing parental understanding of non-evidenced information and responding to negative feedback about their practice. This research suggests a need for educational support and ongoing professional development for clinicians to assist them to adjust to new goals and expectations of clinical interactions with 'informed' parents.

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“…While this study highlights the importance of social media presence in cultivating an online persona, the other components undoubtedly can (and should) contribute to a patient's overall perception of a physician. For example, we recently argued that online ratings data should not be used as the sole criterion by healthcare consumers to select physicians (as data suggests they are), since they have no association with quality or value of care [16]. Similar to online ratings, social media presence should not be used by patients in isolation to select physicians.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Social Media Presence with Online Physician Ratings and Surgical Volume Among California Urologists: Observational Study (Preprint)

Houman¹,

Weinberger²,

Caron³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Urologists are increasingly using various forms of social media to promote their professional practice and attract patients. Currently, the association of social media on a urologists’ practice is unknown. OBJECTIVES We aimed to determine whether social media presence is associated with higher online physician ratings and surgical volume among California urologists. METHODS We sampled 195 California urologists who were rated on the ProPublica Surgeon Scorecard website. We obtained information on professional use of online social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blog, and YouTube) in 2014 and defined social media presence as a binary variable (yes/no) for use of an individual platform or any platform. We collected data on online physician ratings across websites (Yelp, Healthgrades, Vitals, RateMD, and UCompareHealthcare) and calculated the mean physician ratings across all websites as an average weighted by the number of reviews. We then collected data on surgical volume for radical prostatectomy from the ProPublica Surgeon Scorecard website. We used multivariable linear regression to determine the association of social media presence with physician ratings and surgical volume. RESULTS Among our sample of 195 urologists, 62 (32%) were active on some form of social media. Social media presence on any platform was associated with a slightly higher mean physician rating (β coefficient: .3; 95% CI 0.03-0.5; P=.05). However, only YouTube was associated with higher physician ratings (β coefficient: .3; 95% CI 0.2-0.5; P=.04). Social media presence on YouTube was strongly associated with increased radical prostatectomy volume (β coefficient: 7.4; 95% CI 0.3-14.5; P=.04). Social media presence on any platform was associated with increased radical prostatectomy volume (β coefficient: 7.1; 95% CI –0.7 to 14.2; P=.05). CONCLUSIONS Urologists’ use of social media, especially YouTube, is associated with a modest increase in physician ratings and prostatectomy volume. Although a majority of urologists are not currently active on social media, patients may be more inclined to endorse and choose subspecialist urologists who post videos of their surgical technique.

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Online physician ratings fail to predict actual performance on measures of quality, value, and peer review

Abstract: Online consumer ratings should not be used in isolation to select physicians, given their poor association with clinical performance.

Cited by 69 publications

References 14 publications

Negative Online Patient Reviews in Headache Medicine

Negative Online Patient Reviews in Headache Medicine

Paediatric clinicians' experiences of parental online health information seeking: A qualitative study

Association of Social Media Presence with Online Physician Ratings and Surgical Volume Among California Urologists: Observational Study (Preprint)

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