Longwoods Blog
Vol.7 No.11 | May 26, 2010
FACTS and STATS
In US, few patients are posting online reviews of their physicians and, among those that do, most of the reviews they write are positive, according to a study published in Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Tara Lagu, a Tufts University School of Medicine assistant professor, and colleagues at the Center for Quality of Care Research at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., took a random sample of 300 Boston-area doctors and searched for reviews posted by their patients on 33 physician-rating websites. They found 190 reviews for 81 of the physicians in the sample with 88% of the reviews positive, 6% negative and 6% considered neutral.
The researchers found 66 posts that included patient-written narratives about 52 physicians with 89% of these classified as positive. Half of the narratives contained tips such as “Helpful, will listen. But be persistent.”
Of the websites reviewed, 12 were strictly dedicated to physician reviews; 11 were local sites that also offered restaurant reviews; eight were health-information sites that also offered physician reviews; and two were operated by insurance companies. The authors noted how one site offered a free gift valued at $200 in exchange for reviewing at least eight doctors.
They also noted that most of the physician-rating websites “were neither user-friendly nor patient-centered,” and they added that search engines were “cumbersome,” advertising was “prevalent” and physician information was “incomplete.”
“Although these websites have the potential to empower patients looking for a physician and to offer a new route for providing physicians with constructive feedback,” the researchers concluded, “use by patients has been limited to date, and reviews are mostly positive.”
Source: Patients’ Evaluations of Health Care Providers in the Era of Social Networking: An Analysis of Physician-Rating Websites
Date: May 13, 2010
AROUND THE WORLD
Sweden: National Biobank Registry Ready For Implementation
Australians to Get Electronic Health Records
NEWS FROM CANADA
CHIEF Reaches 50th Member Milestone at 1st Anniversary
TRENDS
Automated At-Home Monitoring Lowers High Blood Pressure, Study Finds
Hospitals Criticized Over Offers to Earn or Save Money by Sharing Electronic Patient Data
KLAS Report: Healthcare IT Consultants in High Demand as Providers Reach for Meaningful Use
Is an EHR a Good Business Decision for a Physician Practice?
INDUSTRY SPEAK
Electronic Health Records and Clinical Trials: An Incentive to Integrate
EHR Software Market Share Analysis
Medweb Introduces Telemedicine Cloud Services (PDF)
CANADIAN MARKET RESEARCH
Access up-to-date market intelligence on the Canadian healthcare IT landscape based on data from the HIMSS Analytics Canadian DatabaseSM. Research that can help healthcare IT vendors and consultants expand into the Canadian market and become more competitive in the space. ITAC members receive a 15% discount.
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INFOWAY UPDATE
Find Out What’s New and Happening at Canada Health Infoway
WORTH NOTING
e-Health 2010: From Investment to Impact
HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo
ITAC 2010 – Information Technology in Aged Care
IADIS International Conference e-Health 2010
IFHRO 2010: Congress of International Federation of Health Records Organizations
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Longwoods Online.