JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Feedback from patients is an essential element of a patient-oriented health care system. Physician rating websites (PRWs) are a key way patients can provide feedback online.

Objective:

This study analyzes an entire decade of online ratings for all medical specialties on the leading German PRW.

Methods:

The paper presents retrospective analysis of all scaled-survey online ratings, which were posted on jameda between 2010 and 2019. Statistical analysis was carried out using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test. In addition, a second degree polynomial regression model assessed the association between the mean overall performance of rated physicians and the number of ratings per physician.

Results:

In total, 1,906,146 ratings were posted on jameda between 2010 and 2019 for 127,921 physicians. The number of rated physicians increased constantly from 19,305 in 2010 to 82,511 in 2018, respectively. The average number of ratings per rated physicians increased from 1.65 (SD 1.56) in 2010 to 3.19 (SD 4.69) in 2019. Overall, 75.2% of all ratings were in the best rating category of “very good”, and 5.7% of the ratings were in the lowest category of “insufficient”. However, the mean of all ratings was shown to be 1.76 (SD 1.53) with a relatively constant distribution over time. General practitioners, internists, and gynecologists received the highest number of ratings (343,242, 266,899, and 232,914, respectively). Male patients, those of higher age, and those covered by private health insurance gave significantly (p<.001) more favorable evaluations than did their counterparts. Physicians with a lower number of ratings tended to receive ratings across the rating scale, while physicians with a higher number of ratings tended to have better ratings. Regression analysis identified an inverse U-shaped relationship, with a positive association between the number of ratings and average rating seen until a physician achieved 138 ratings. Thereafter, a negative relationship was seen.

Conclusions:

Online ratings have been increasing tremendously over the past decade and become an essential element for patients to leave feedback on the care they receive. More than half of all physicians have been rated online on jameda each year in Germany since 2016. With patients increasingly using the internet for their health care and PRWs adding additional features, the importance of online patient feedback will likely only intensify.