Website Characteristics and Physician Reviews on Commercial Physician-Rating Websites

Abstract

Patients are increasingly seeking information about physicians online. Nearly 60% report that online reviews are important when choosing a physician. 1 Because publicly reported quality data are not reported at the physician level, patients must consult physician-rating websites to find such reviews. 2 The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the structure of commercial physicianrating websites and the quantity of physician reviews on these sites. Methods |During September 2016, we searched Google for websites that allowed patients to review physicians in the United States, using search terms such as rate my doctor. We included active sites that were written in English, available to the public, allowed patients to leave reviews, did not require a subscription, and allowed searching by physician name. We excluded websites that were affiliated with an insurance company or health system or were limited to a single specialty. We cross-referenced search results against a published list, 3 added any websites that met inclusion criteria, and recorded website characteristics. We then used publicly available lists of registered and active physicians to identify a random sample of 600 physicians from 3 metropolitan areas (Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; and Dallas, Texas). We searched each website for reviews and calculated mean and median number of reviews per physician per site using SAS (SAS Institute), version 9.3.

Negative Online Patient Reviews in Headache Medicine

“…There are limitations to the methodology of commercial rating websites with small numbers of potentially biased reviews being posted. In a study of reviews on 28 sites of 600 randomly selected physicians from Boston, Portland, and Dallas, most physicians had no more than one review on any site . Anyone can post a negative review including a disgruntled relative, friend, or a random stranger …”

“…In a study of reviews on 28 sites of 600 randomly selected physicians from Boston, Portland, and Dallas, most physicians had no more than one review on any site. 16 Anyone can post a negative review including a disgruntled relative, friend, or a random stranger. 8 For some physicians, PressGaney patient satisfaction surveys (PG PSS) may be used to determine bonuses.…”

The role of social media around patient experience and engagement

“…Risk of gaming represents a serious concern, especially if social media results are used for assessment. Despite widespread social media use, content related specifically to healthcare is less common, and total number of comments or reviews can be low for a given hospital or individual 13. Converting the intent of natural language and nuance of social media discussion into useful information is also technically difficult.…”

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

“…However, online physicians ratings may be a reasonable proxy for the public's perception of a physician, based on the scope of use and impact of online ratings on healthcare consumers' behavior. In the United States, 47% of patients perform online searches of their physicians [6] and a recent populationbased analysis of 600 physicians showed a median of 7 reviews per provider [7]. These ratings are frequently used as a key source of information by which patients choose a physician.…”