Do Patients Put Stock In Your Online Reviews?
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Many sources say consumers often turn to reviews before choosing a physician, but the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health found many parents don’t trust what’s published online.
One in four patients check your online reviews, according to a story Health IT Outcomes previously reported. Lead author of the cited University of Michigan Medical School study, David Hanauer, said at the time, although physicians can be leery of such ratings websites, they are not going anywhere. “We do have to accept that this is becoming a fact of life,” he says. “The view of consumers is that they should be able to view and leave ratings on just about anything they want online.”
Now, Fierce Health IT reports a recent study has found that while online ratings are gaining popularity among some, others are wary of the information they are finding about physicians online.
The poll, conducted by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, found that while parents were aware of online reviews, many thought they were unreliable and more than two-thirds said they thought the ratings were not real. In addition, about two-thirds also said there were not enough reviews on which to base a decision. Among parents who have considered online ratings, two-thirds say they either chose or avoided doctors based on what they read.
The poll also noted one-third of parents report looking at online doctor ratings for themselves or a family member over the past year. Additionally, moms are more likely than dads to visit these websites — 36 percent compared to 22 percent, respectively.
“Online rating sites are becoming an increasingly common and potentially influential source of information for parents as they choose a doctor,” said Hanauer, a pediatrician at U-M’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, in a press release. “Websites reviewing doctors are readily available, but concerns about how trustworthy they are may be preventing parents from using them broadly.”
“People are regularly using online reviews to help make decisions about cars, movies and restaurants. It’s no surprise that more websites are allowing patients to publicly share their experiences about their doctors as well,” says Hanauer. “Doctor rating sites have the potential to help make the patient-physician relationship more service-oriented. In order for online rating sites to become a more accepted and useful tool, doctors will need to be more engaged in the process, in ways that assure that ratings are authentic.”