Patients Prefer Referrals Over Online Reviews
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
A recent study has found individuals prefer to a see a doctor based on a referral from family or friends rather than an online review.
A recent study from the Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed patients are much more likely to trust reviews of doctors from family and friends more than those available online.
“Americans say it is a challenge to find information about provider quality and other information they might use when making decisions about doctors. Further, it is easier to find information about certain aspects of the care provided by doctors than other aspects,” says the report.
Sixty percent of Americans say they would “very much” or “completely” trust quality ratings of doctors that they receive from friends or family members. About half say they would trust quality ratings they receive from their regular doctor or other individual health care provider.
“Beyond those two sources, however, Americans overwhelmingly lack trust in quality ratings of health care providers. Three in 10 say they trust quality ratings from patients who are surveyed anonymously about the quality of care they received, from a community or advocacy group that evaluates health care providers, or from groups of doctors or other health care providers like medical societies.” says the report.
iHealth Beat reports that most patients don’t trust reviews they see on websites such as Angie’s List, HealthGrades.com, and Yelp. Also, only 26 percent of patients said that high scores on those types of websites would crucially influence their decision to see a particular doctor.
“For sources such as an employer or someone who deals with health benefits, health insurance plans, state government agencies, federal government agencies, free ratings websites, paid subscription ratings websites, and newspapers or magazines— fewer Americans say they trust the quality information they provide than distrust it.”
A survey published recently in JAMA claimed 1 in 4 patients check physicians’ online reviews. Another recent study says that when patients do review their doctor online, it’s usually to give them high marks.