Parents Pay Close Attention To Provider's Online Ratings
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Parents frequently choose doctors for their children based on online physician reviews, says a new study published in Pediatrics.
In a University of Michigan study published in Pediatrics, researchers found parents pay close attention to online reviews and ratings of doctors. “In this nationally representative survey of parents, we found that the majority (74 percent) are aware of rating websites and slightly more than one-quarter (28 percent) had sought information on rating websites when choosing a primary care physician for their children,” notes the article.
"These review sites have the potential to change the patient-physician relationship and transform it into more of a service-focused, consumer-provider relationship," lead author David A. Hanauer, a primary care pediatrician at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School in a press release.
According to iHealth Beat, parents were told three hypothetical situations; a physician was recommended by a neighbor, a physician was recommended by a neighbor and also has the highest rating on a review website, and finally a physician was recommended by a neighbor yet has the lowest rating on a physician ratings website. They were asked which one they were most likely to select.
Twenty-two percent said they were most likely to choose the physician recommended by a neighbor. Only 3 percent said they would choose the physician who was recommended by a neighbor but had the lowest online review. Almost half of the parents, 46 percent, said they would choose the physician who was not only recommended by a neighbor, but also scored the highest rating on an online review site.
"A provider's online reputation may now be just as important as one's reputation among the general community, and the results from this research seems to support that perspective," Hanauer says.
"Regardless of whether respondents had viewed physician ratings in the past, and independent of the respondents' age, gender or, educational level, both positive and negative online ratings strongly influenced the likelihood of selecting a child's physician recommended by a neighbor."
Interestingly, only 6 percent of those who responded said they had ever posted a review online themselves. "The small percentage of parents who actually post reviews suggests that people who depend on online ratings may not be getting a complete picture of a doctor's care," Hanauer says.