Key Takeaways

Many people rely on websites where patients can review their physicians to help themchoose a doctoror assess their current provider, but the information on these sites can be misleading. A systematic literature review from the University of Buffalo found that many physician-rating websites (PRWs) include inaccurate information and data quality issues.

How to Write an Online Review of Your Doctor

For the study, researchers looked at 49 literature papers regarding online patient-reported physician ratings and reviews. They implemented a conceptual data quality framework that was designed to analyze the PRW data grouped into four distinct categories:

How to File a Complaint About Your Doctor

The researchers found that 53% of the sites contained intrinsic data quality errors (accuracy, objectivity, reputation, and believability), and 61% presented contextual data quality issues (relevance, value addition, timeliness, and completeness).

There were also other problems, such as system interfaces that were not easy to understand, as well as questionable security and safety of data.

The Most Common Problems

Based on the data, the most prominent PRW quality issues were:

Can Doctors Control Their Online Presence?

Electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) wields a significant influence over consumer decision making, and healthcare is no exception. Reports estimate that 35% of patients selected physicians based on good ratings, while 37% of people avoided doctors with bad ratings.

Many popular PRW sites pull data from theNational Provider Identifier Registry(a government database of all active health providers), which means that physicians do not currently have the option to opt-out of being included on popular sites like Healthgrades and RateMDs.

However, PRW sites sometimes let doctors purchase a premium subscription that allows them to have more control over the data and reviews that are published.

How to Give Your Doctor Feedback

“If doctors don’t pay, they have minimal control over what patients post,” Mulgund says. “However, if they don’t pay, they are still able to update their profiles to keep them current. For example, they can update employment changes and new insurance they accept.”

LegislationCurrently, there is not much legislation to regulate the control of personal online data. That could change with the recent enactment of Europe’sGeneral Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) and theCalifornia Consumer Privacy Act of 2018(CCPA), which allows people to opt-out of the sale of personal information and give them other ways to take control of the data being shared about them.

Legislation

Currently, there is not much legislation to regulate the control of personal online data. That could change with the recent enactment of Europe’sGeneral Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) and theCalifornia Consumer Privacy Act of 2018(CCPA), which allows people to opt-out of the sale of personal information and give them other ways to take control of the data being shared about them.

How to Use PRW Sites

Mulgund says that despite the data quality issues of PRW sites, the majority of physician ratings are positive, typically averaging 4.6 out of 5. The platforms let peopleprovide feedbackand voice their opinions, which keeps the sites popular.

What This Means For YouBefore you make a decision about a doctor based on a review you see online, make sure that you cross-reference the information on several PRW sites. You can also use the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services physician comparison database to verify a physician’s background information andcredentials.

What This Means For You

Before you make a decision about a doctor based on a review you see online, make sure that you cross-reference the information on several PRW sites. You can also use the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services physician comparison database to verify a physician’s background information andcredentials.

How to Check Your Doctor’s Credentials and Background

2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mulgund P, Sharman R, Anand P, Shekhar S, Karadi P.Data quality issues with physician-rating websites: systematic review.Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020: 22(9). doi:10.2196/15916Hanauer D, Zheng K, Singer D.Public awareness, perception, and use of online physician rating sites.JAMA.2014:311(7). doi.10.1001/jama.2013.283194

2 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mulgund P, Sharman R, Anand P, Shekhar S, Karadi P.Data quality issues with physician-rating websites: systematic review.Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020: 22(9). doi:10.2196/15916Hanauer D, Zheng K, Singer D.Public awareness, perception, and use of online physician rating sites.JAMA.2014:311(7). doi.10.1001/jama.2013.283194

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Mulgund P, Sharman R, Anand P, Shekhar S, Karadi P.Data quality issues with physician-rating websites: systematic review.Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020: 22(9). doi:10.2196/15916Hanauer D, Zheng K, Singer D.Public awareness, perception, and use of online physician rating sites.JAMA.2014:311(7). doi.10.1001/jama.2013.283194

Mulgund P, Sharman R, Anand P, Shekhar S, Karadi P.Data quality issues with physician-rating websites: systematic review.Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020: 22(9). doi:10.2196/15916

Hanauer D, Zheng K, Singer D.Public awareness, perception, and use of online physician rating sites.JAMA.2014:311(7). doi.10.1001/jama.2013.283194

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