Physician Choice Making and Characteristics Associated With Using Physician-Rating Websites: Cross-Sectional Study

Emmert, Martin; Meier, Florian; Pisch, Frank; Sander, Uwe

doi:10.2196/jmir.2702

Cited by 183 publications

(212 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…30 It has been said that one' s "online reputation" is now just as important as one' s reputation among the general community, 31 and the results from our 3 vignettes seem to support that perspective. Regardless of whether respondents had viewed physician ratings in the past, and independent of the respondents' individual characteristics (eg, age, gender, educational level), both positive and negative online ratings strongly influenced the likelihood of selecting a child's physician recommended by a neighbor.…”

Section: -33mentioning

confidence: 59%

“…[27][28][29][30] Our national study focused on parents seeking a physician for their children, whereas other studies have not made that distinction. About three-quarters (74%) of parents in our survey were aware of rating sites for physicians, and more than one-quarter (28%) had sought information on physician ratings for their children within the past year.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental Awareness and Use of Online Physician Rating Sites

Hanauer

Zheng

Singer³

et al. 2014

Pediatrics

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Public awareness and usage of physician-rating Web sites have been increasing over the last few years. Such ratings can influence adults' decisions about choosing a physician, but their influence on decisions for children' s physicians has not been characterized. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:In this nationally representative survey of parents, we found that the majority (74%) are aware of rating Web sites and slightly more than one-quarter (28%) had sought information on rating Web sites when choosing a primary care physician for their children. abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The US public is increasingly using online rating sites to make decisions about a variety of consumer goods and services, including physicians. We sought to understand, within the context of other types of rating sites, parents' awareness, perceptions, and use of physician-rating sites for choosing primary care physicians for their children. METHODS:This cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of 3563 adults was conducted in September 2012. Participants were asked about rating Web sites in the context of finding a primary care physician for their children and about their previous experiences with such sites. RESULTS:Overall, 2137 (60%) of participants completed the survey. Among these respondents, 1619 were parents who were included in the present analysis. About three-quarters (74%) of parents were aware of physician-rating sites, and about one-quarter (28%) had used them to select a primary care physician for their children. Based on 3 vignettes for which respondents were asked if they would follow a neighbor' s recommendation about a primary care physician and using multivariate analyses, respondents exposed to a neighbor' s recommendation and positive online physician ratings were significantly more likely to choose the recommended physician (adjusted odds ratio: 3.0 [95% confidence interval: 2.1-4.4]) than respondents exposed to the neighbor's recommendation alone. Conversely, respondents exposed to the neighbor's recommendation and negative online ratings were significantly less likely to choose the neighbor children's physician (adjusted odds ratio: 0.09 [95% confidence interval: 0.03-0.3]). CONCLUSIONS:Parents are beginning to use online physician ratings, and these ratings have the potential to influence choices of their children' s primary care physician. Pediatrics 2014;134:e966-e975 AUTHORS:

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Section: -33mentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Awareness and Use of Online Physician Rating Sites

Hanauer

Zheng

Singer³

et al. 2014

Pediatrics

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“…In fact, a survey of 1000 surgical patients at Mayo clinic found that 81% would seek consultation from a physician based on positive reviews alone, and 77% would not seek consultation from a physician based solely on negative reviews [8]. Similar data has been reported in Europe [9]. Because of the strong impact of online ratings on healthcare consumers' choices, it may be reasonable to use them as a proxy measure "community reputation," if this is defined as how likely a patient is to choose to consult with a given practice based on community opinions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

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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“…A 2013 study conducted in Germany found 32.09% (483/1505) of individuals were aware of physician-rating websites. The same German study found 65.35% (248/381) chose a physician based on their online ratings and 52.23% (199/381) decided against a doctor due to their ratings [10]. With increasing public awareness and usage of feedback websites, the presence and perceptions of physicians online play an important role in attaining and retaining patients [3].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%