Are Online Reviews of Physicians Reliable Indicators of Clinical Outcomes? A Focus on Chronic Disease Management

Are Online Reviews of Physicians Reliable Indicators of Clinical Outcomes? A Focus on Chronic Disease Management Policy/practice abstract Because online reviews of physicians have grown in popularity, it is important to ask if such reviews actually convey useful information about the quality of care delivered by physicians. We address this issue by examining whether online reviews of physicians treating chronic conditions are indicative of clinical outcomes, such as inpatient readmission rates, based on a large longitudinal data set of physician reviews. The main finding is that online reviews are not informative in the context of chronic diseases and are not useful from the viewpoint of prospective patients. This is because the outcomes of chronic disease treatment are often not easy to comprehend by patients who have not undergone extensive medical training. Further, unlike outcomes of many episodic treatments, such as surgeries, the outcomes of chronic disease treatments may not be easily discernible to patients, and possible relapses can cloud patients’ assessment of changes in their health conditions. The broader lesson is that consumer feedback is unlikely to be useful in contexts involving credence goods whose quality is difficult to ascertain even after consumption. Our research suggests that prospective patients should use online reviews with caution, and policymakers should make alternative information sources available to facilitate better decision making by patients. Current trends on patient empowerment indicate that patients who play an active role in managing their health also seek and use information obtained from online reviews of physicians. However, it is far from certain whether patient-generated online reviews accurately reflect the quality of care provided by physicians, especially in the context of chronic disease care. Because chronic diseases require continuous care, monitoring, and multiple treatments over extended time periods, it can be quite hard for patients to assess the effectiveness of a particular physician accurately. Given this credence nature of chronic disease care, the research question is the following: what is the information value associated with online reviews of physicians who treat chronic disease patients? We address this issue by examining the link between online reviews of physicians and their patients’ actual clinical outcomes based on a granular admission–discharge data set. Contrary to popular belief, our