News: Study finds disconnect between online physician reviews and patient satisfaction scores

There have long been complaints about the inaccuracies found in publicly reported quality data. In the latest development, a new study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that negative online reviews of physicians often are at odds with the more positive responses the same physicians receive with patient satisfaction surveys, HealthLeaders Media reported.

In a pilot between September and December 2014, researchers used Google searches and alerts to track negative online reviews of physicians at Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus, HealthLeaders Media reported. Of 2,148 physicians, 113 had negative online reviews. The physicians represented 28 departments and divisions.

Researchers then compared these physicians’ scores in a formal patient satisfaction survey with the scores of other Mayo Clinic physicians in similar fields who had no negative online reviews. Researchers found no statistical differences in the overall scores, or in the scores for patient communication and interaction.

The group with negative reviews, however, scored much lower on factors beyond patient-physician interactions, such as interaction with desk staff, nursing, physical environment, appointment access, waiting time, problem resolution, billing and parking, according to HealthLeaders Media.

The study authors do acknowledge that the study was somewhat limited by the sample sizes and short time data collection period. The online reviews reflected single experience of patients, and the data did not identify the instances or patient experiences that led to negative reviews, the study says.

“Our study highlights the disconnection between industry-vetted patient satisfaction scores and online review comments,” said study senior author Sandhya Pruthi, MD, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic. “Patients need to be aware of these distinctions as they make decisions about their health. Physicians also need to be aware, as they manage their online reputations.”

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in HealthLeaders Media. To read the full story from Mayo Clinic Proceedings, click here. To read about recent legal action against Leapfrog Group regarding inaccurate quality scores, click here. To read about a study probing the unreliability of self-reported quality data, click here.