Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Jul 17, 2020)
Date Submitted: Sep 13, 2019
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Radiation oncologists perceptions and utilization of digital patient assessment platforms
ABSTRACT
Background:
There is increasing patient engagement in the presence of digital patient assessment platforms, or physician rating websites. Despite this rapid growth, there remains insufficient data on how these evaluations are collected and impact radiation oncologists.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to assess radiation oncologists worldwide on their awareness and noted effects of digital patient assessment platforms.
Methods:
An electronic survey was delivered to 6,199 members of the American Society of Radiation Oncology. Survey subjects were radiation oncologists currently practicing in the world. The survey consisted of 14 questions focused on on demographics, practice details, patient volume, institutional utilization of patient reviews, and perceptions of radiation oncologists on health care reviews provided by patients.
Results:
There were 447 responses from practicing radiation oncologists in total, 321 (72%) of which were practicing in the US. Most respondents (228; 51%) either agreed or strongly agreed that patients consider online reviews when deciding which physician to visit. Of all respondents, 188 (42%) reported their institution checks their online feedback, whereas 157 (36%) and 99 (22%) reported not knowing, or to their knowledge, their institution did not, check their online feedback. Respondents who saw more than the average number of consults per week, were significantly more likely to receive negative feedback (p-value = 0.005). Forty-five percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that online virtual assessment tools contribute to physician burn-out. Respondents (100; 22%) who received inappropriate or misdirected feedback were significantly more likely to report virtual reviews contribute to burnout (p-value = 0.001).
Conclusions:
Radiation oncologists need to be aware that self-reported patient assessments are a data point in quality of a physician and healthcare establishment. To best ensure appropriate feedback of a physician’s capabilities as a doctor, leadership and employee alignment for patient experience are now more important than ever.
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