Sections
Log in
Top News
U.S. News World News Featured Voices
Odd News
Entertainment
Movies Music TV
Sports
Soccer NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Horse Racing Tennis Col. Football Col. Basketball
Photos
News Entertainment Sports Features Archives
More...
Defense Featured Science Health Archive Almanac
About Feedback
About Feedback
Search
Trending
9/11 fund
Payless
Theodore McCarrick
Jussie Smollett
Illinois shooting
Iran attack
Laurie Hernandez
'Alexa & Katie'
Nigeria election
Colin Kaepernick
Stephen Curry
YNW Melly
Health News
Feb. 2, 2017 / 1:10 PM

New study shows online reviews stressful for doctors

Research shows that online physician rating surveys can be stressful for doctors, but empowering for patients.

By
Amy Wallace
A new study has found that online physician rating surveys can increase stress in doctors while empowering patients to make healthcare decisions. Photo by StartupStockPhotos/PixaBay

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A study from Harvard Medical School measured the impact of physician rating websites on both doctors and their patients.

The study found that while online physician rating surveys can make patients feel empowered to make more informed healthcare decisions, it can have adverse effects on physicians by adding to their stress levels.

Healthcare rating websites are typically hosted by private companies and use crowd sourced numerical ratings and comment sections for online users. These privately run online rating sites like Healthgrades.com usually cover only a small percentage of physicians and provide a few comments per provider.

Physician rating websites run by health systems give numerical ratings and comments from standardized health system patient experience surveys as part of internal quality improvement programs.

RELATED U.S. heart failure rates on the rise

The study surveyed 828 physicians and 494 patients from four hospitals in a large accountable care organization in Massachusetts.

Results showed that 53 percent of doctors said they read online reviews about themselves and 39 percent of patients used websites to find information about doctors.

Doctors reported trusting information on health system websites over private health review sites and were less supportive of sharing data online than patients were.

RELATED Slim but sedentary: Risk of prediabetes may rise

Researchers found that 78 percent of doctors surveyed said the possibility of negative online comments added to their job stress and 46 percent said online doctor ratings could actually harm physician-patient relationships.

"Patients may lack trust in health system websites due to concerns regarding bias, as these publish reviews regarding their own physicians," Alison Holliday of Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study, said in a press release. "Health systems seeking to publish patient experience survey data will therefore need to engage patients in their trust of what is very likely a new and complicated data source to them."

The study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

RELATED People at high altitudes have lower risk of heart disease: Study

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more UPI news and photos.

Trending Stories

Number of push-ups men can do in a row may indicate heart health
HPV unlikely to be spread by hands, researchers say
Study: Chemical in Roundup may increase cancer risk by 40 percent
Hip and knee replacements show high durability, study shows
FDA approves first customizable insulin pump

Photo Gallery

 
Palestinians celebrate Valentine's Day

Latest News

Miami Dolphins to hire former Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie
Australia's major parties hacked by 'sophisticated state actor'
Milwaukee Brewers, Mike Moustakas agree to one-year deal
Denny Hamlin honors late J.D. Gibbs with win in Daytona 500
2019 Daytona 500: Paul Menard causes major wreck, wipes out 21 cars
 
Back to Article
/
Back to top
About UPI Contact Feedback Advertisements Submit News Tips
Copyright © 2019 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of UsePrivacy Policy