People likely to e-review doctors than hotels or restaurants
People are much more likely to show both love and loathe for their doctors in online reviews than they are with hotels and restaurants, says a recent analysis by Denver, CO-headquartered national healthcare marketing and practice management consulting firm Vanguard Communications.
According to the analysis of 1.5 million online Yelp reviews, restaurants, hotels and doctors each average a 3.5-star rating out of five stars possible on the business review website, but a doctor is 64% more likely to get a five-star review and 194% more likely to get a one-star review.
The study was conducted by the consulting company’s technical director, Jonathan Stanley.
Stanley explained the statistics propose that although patients’ experiences with doctors are markedly polarizing, their expectations of hotels and restaurants are further nuanced.
He said, “Given the findings, a disappointing appetizer or a noisy corner room doesn’t appear as upsetting to restaurant and hotel patrons as a physician’s poor bedside manner or a billing error might be to a patient.”
The findings of the analysis, however, show that online reviews of doctors don’t typically rate worse or better than those of other businesses. It’s, rather, the polarizing effects of a negative patient experience that is more damaging to medical practices compared to other trades.
On average, a restaurant receives 27 reviews and hotels 61 reviews. However, doctors average just 13. Consequently, each online review for a doctor has up to five times more effect on the overall rating of a medical practice.
Vanguard says its previous study found that disorganization, poor communication and other customer care complaints make the leading ratings problems for hospitals and doctors’ offices.
Vanguard CEO Ron Harman King stated, “In the online age, healthcare consumers demand not just good clinical care but also customer service as good as that of four- and five-star hotels and restaurants.”
Although doctors may feel undeservedly attacked online, says the company’s press release, patients are statistically nearly twice as likely to provide physicians with good marks than poor ones on the Internet.
Image via press release
