National Poll: Many Older Adults Use Online Reviews to Select Physicians

In selecting physicians, surveyed adults aged 50 to 80 say that online ratings are nearly as important as information from friends and family members.

A significant number of older Americans are using online reviews to select their physicians, according to a new poll published today.

For clinicians, online reviews should be a primary concern for several reasons: review websites such as HealthGrades and Vitals are collecting information and posting it across the country, online reviews can be a robust marketing tool, and reviews can help hone clinician performance.

The new poll, which was commissioned by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation with support from AARP and Michigan Medicine, found 43% of Americans aged 50 to 80 had reviewed doctor ratings. In selecting a physician, 20% of those surveyed said online physician ratings were very important compared to 23% who said information from family and friends was important.

“People of all ages are turning to the web to find information, so it is not surprising that older Americans are looking up physician ratings online. But it is a bit of a surprise that these online ratings now carry as much weight as recommendations from family and friends," David Hanauer, MD, MS, an associate professor at the University of Michigan and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation member who worked on the poll, said in a prepared statement.

Key data points

The poll was conducted by Toronto-based Ipsos Public Affairs and features data collected from more than 2,200 adults in a nationally representative household survey. The poll generated several key findings:

• Among survey respondents who had viewed physician ratings within the past year, 65% used the reviews for a physician they were considering, 34% used the reviews to find a new physician, and 31% used the reviews for a physician they had already seen.
   
• Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents (71%) said they would pick a physician who had many positive ratings even if there were a few negative reviews.
   
• When selecting a physician with online reviews, the total number of reviews was important to 41% of survey respondents.
   
• Among survey respondents who had viewed online ratings more than once in the past year, 67% chose a physician based on good reviews, 57% said they had not chosen a physician based on poor reviews, and 96% said the reviews matched their experience after visiting the physician.
   
• In selecting a physician, the three most important factors for survey respondents were time to get an appointment (61%), the physician's years of experience (42%), and recommendations from a physician (40%).
   
• Only 7% of survey respondents had posted an online rating or review of a physician. Among these survey respondents, 56% had posted because of a positive experience and 35% had posted because of a bad experience.

"While some may think that choosing a doctor using online ratings is something only younger people may do, this national poll shows that this practice is also common among older adults," the poll's report says.