JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Physician review websites have greatly empowered patients by allowing them to acquire information about physicians prior to their health decision making. Technical and interpersonal skills are key rating categories of physician care on these websites. However, research has rarely examined the impact of different rating categories on patients’ choice of physicians. In addition, little is known about whether patients weigh technical and interpersonal skills differently in their selection of different types of physicians.

Objective:

This experiment aimed to examine 1) how online ratings about physicians’ technical and interpersonal skills may affect patients’ willingness to choose physicians, and 2) whether patients’ preferences for technical or interpersonal skills differ in their selection of primary care physicians versus specialists.

Methods:

A 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted. Over six hundred participants were recruited through a crowdsourcing website and randomly assigned to view a mockup physician review web page which contained basic information about a physician and numerical ratings from patients. Physician type as well as ratings on a physician’s technical and interpersonal skills were manipulated. After reviewing the web page, participants were asked to complete a survey on their perceptions of the physician and willingness to seek health care from the physician.

Results:

The results showed that participants were more willing to choose a physician with higher ratings on technical skills than on interpersonal skills compared to a physician with higher ratings on interpersonal skills than on technical skills, t (416.94) = 21.997, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 1.12. In selection of different types of physicians, patients were more likely to choose a specialist with higher ratings on technical skills than on interpersonal skills, compared to a primary care physician with the same ratings, F (1, 561) = 4.85, p = .028.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that people place more weight on technical skills than interpersonal skills in their selection of a physician based on online ratings. People are more likely to make a compromise on interpersonal skills in their choice of a specialist compared to a primary care physician. This study emphasizes the importance of examining online physician ratings in a more nuanced way in relation to the selection of different types of physicians.