A study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, examined online rating systems to determine if the ratings were clinically accurate.
Timothy Daskivich, MD, of Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and colleagues conducted an observational study of 78 physicians and 8 specialties. Researchers assessed how consumer ratings correlated with specialty-specific performance scores, primary care physician peer-review scores and administrator peer-review scores.
Here's what they found:
1. Multivariable models showed no association between mean consumer ratings and specialty-specific performance scores, primary care physician scores or administrator scores.
2. Researchers found no association between ratings and score subdomains addressing quality or value-based care.
3. Among "low performing" physicians, only 5 percent to 32 percent had low consumer ratings.
4. Ratings were consistent between review platforms. A positive score on one platform, often resulted in a positive score on another platform.
Researchers concluded, "Online consumer ratings should not be used in isolation to select physicians, given their poor association with clinical performance."