Why are so few patients rating their physicians on German physician rating websites? A qualitative study

BMC Health Services Research
Stuart McLennanHannes Kahrass

Abstract

Physician rating websites (PRWs) allow patients to rate, comment and discuss physicians' quality online as a source of information for others searching for a physician. It is generally assumed that PRWs will only be helpful for users, and fair for the rated, if there are a high number of ratings. However, the number of ratings on PRWs remains low internationally and there is currently a lack of research examining the reasons why patients are not rating their physicians. The aim of this study is to therefore identify the spectrum of factors influencing people's willingness to rate their physician on PRWs. A mailed cross-sectional survey sent to a random sample from 4 North German cities between April and July 2016. Fifty participants who had previously used PRWs but not rated a physician provided reasons for why that had not rated a physician in a free text response. Semi-structured qualitative telephone interviews were then conducted with 22 interested participants to explore factors influencing their willingness to rate their physician on PRWs in more detail. Participants identified a total of 21 distinct incentives and disincentives for rating physicians on PRWs, which could be further categorised under the headings: user-spe...Continue Reading

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Aug 27, 2017·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Stuart McLennanSwantje Reimann
Nov 11, 2017·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Stuart McLennanHannes Kahrass

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Citations

Sep 10, 2019·Journal of Health Services Research & Policy·Anne-Marie BoylanJohn Powell
Sep 29, 2020·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Pavankumar MulgundPriya Karadi
Feb 6, 2020·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Sonja BidmonYasemin Boztug
Jul 28, 2019·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Stuart McLennan
Jun 3, 2021·JAMA Network Open·Stuart McLennanUNKNOWN Making Randomized Trials Affordable (MARTA) Group
Jul 27, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Martin Emmert, Stuart McLennan

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