An example of doctors unhappy about reviews
May 18, 2013
Earlier, we posted an infographic analysis about online patient reviews. We found that the majority of reviews gave health care professionals top scores. We had read other recent data that suggested that online patient reviews tend to be positive. However, the change in conventional wisdom is still relatively nascent.
There was an article in Boston Globe citing the president of a medical society who believes that online reviews present a skewed picture of doctors. We responded with a blog post. We think that online patient reviews are another data point to help patients make decisions about selecting doctors for treatment. While these reviews come with their own set of problems, we think that on balance, they can be helpful. As such, we would like to see the medical community stop discouraging patients from consulting these reviews and realize that they can be an asset for both the patient and the doctor.