Will doctor rating sites improve the quality of care? No

McCartney, Margaret

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1033

Cited by 54 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We need to do something similar for the modern generation in health care." 10 In contrast, physician groups in the US have expressed opposition to physician rating websites on the grounds that reviews will be mostly negative. 11 We found that neither of these viewpoints accurately reflects the state of physician rating in the US.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The British National Health Service (NHS) has encouraged patients to review their physicians and hospitals, suggesting that this new form of public reporting is growing in popularity and gaining respect. 9,10 In the US, however, physician organizations [including the American Medical Association (AMA)] have opposed the development of physician-rating websites, arguing that the identity of patients cannot be confirmed, physicians' responses will be hampered by confidentiality issues, and reviews will be excessively negative. 11 Despite this controversy, little is known about physician-rating websites.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Patients’ Evaluations of Health Care Providers in the Era of Social Networking: An Analysis of Physician-Rating Websites

et al. 2010

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BACKGROUND: Internet-based social networking tools that allow users to share content have enabled a new form of public reporting of physician performance: the physician-rating website. OBJECTIVE: To describe the structure and content of physician-rating websites and to assess the extent to which a patient might find them valuable. METHODS: We searched Google for websites that allowed patients to review physicians in the US. We included websites that met predetermined criteria, identified common elements of these websites, and recorded website characteristics. We then searched the websites for reviews of a random sample of 300 Boston physicians. Finally, we separately analyzed quantitative and narrative reviews. RESULTS: We identified 33 physician-rating websites, which contained 190 reviews for 81 physicians. Most reviews were positive (88%). Six percent were negative, and six percent were neutral. Generalists and subspecialists did not significantly differ in number or nature of reviews. We identified several narrative reviews that appeared to be written by the physicians themselves. CONCLUSION: Physician-rating websites offer patients a novel way to provide feedback and obtain information about physician performance. Despite controversy surrounding these sites, their use by patients has been limited to date, and a majority of reviews appear to be positive.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Patients’ Evaluations of Health Care Providers in the Era of Social Networking: An Analysis of Physician-Rating Websites

et al. 2010

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“…Within the health care community, many have raised concerns about the accuracy of comments expressed on the Web. 13,14 Although ethically viable, it is understood that providing physician-specific ratings based upon publicly available sources remains a controversial position within the profession (and engendered much discussion among the authors). The growing popularity of physician-rating Web sites and the information they place in public view forces the debate forward.…”

Section: Feasibility Of Real Time Satisfaction Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of Real-Time Satisfaction Surveys Through Automated Analysis of Patients' Unstructured Comments and Sentiments

Alemi

Torii

Clementz

et al. 2012

Quality Management in Health Care

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“…[10][11][12] Online sites could also provide venues for families to express views that they might not otherwise feel comfortable sharing. 13 However, the value of these Web sites and the ratings they provide have been questioned on multiple grounds, [14][15][16][17] with criticisms that they lack standardization of rating methods, fail to ensure that ratings include a representative sample of patients for each provider, and have insufficient safeguards against excessively positive comments (eg, physicians' self-promotion) or negative comments (eg, patients' defamatory language).…”

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confidence: 99%

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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Will doctor rating sites improve the quality of care? No

Abstract: The UK government has signalled its support for rating sites with the decision to set up its own through the NHS Choices website. Neil Bacon (doi:) believes they provide essential feedback for doctors, but Margaret McCartney is concerned that the potential harms are still unclear

Cited by 54 publications

References 8 publications

Patients’ Evaluations of Health Care Providers in the Era of Social Networking: An Analysis of Physician-Rating Websites

Patients’ Evaluations of Health Care Providers in the Era of Social Networking: An Analysis of Physician-Rating Websites

Feasibility of Real-Time Satisfaction Surveys Through Automated Analysis of Patients' Unstructured Comments and Sentiments

Parental Awareness and Use of Online Physician Rating Sites

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