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Are Online Reviews of Physicians Reliable Indicators of Clinical Outcomes? A Focus on Chronic Disease Management

Author

Listed:
  • Danish H. Saifee

    (Culverhouse College of Business, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487)

  • Zhiqiang (Eric) Zheng

    (Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080)

  • Indranil R. Bardhan

    (McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78705)

  • Atanu Lahiri

    (Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080)

Abstract

Current trends on patient empowerment indicate that patients who play an active role in managing their health also seek and use information obtained from online reviews of physicians. However, it is far from certain whether patient-generated online reviews accurately reflect the quality of care provided by physicians, especially in the context of chronic disease care. Because chronic diseases require continuous care, monitoring, and multiple treatments over extended time periods, it can be quite hard for patients to assess the effectiveness of a particular physician accurately. Given this credence nature of chronic disease care, the research question is the following: what is the information value associated with online reviews of physicians who treat chronic disease patients? We address this issue by examining the link between online reviews of physicians and their patients’ actual clinical outcomes based on a granular admission–discharge data set. Contrary to popular belief, our study finds that there is no clear relationship between online reviews of physicians and their patients’ clinical outcomes, such as readmission risk or emergency room visits. Our findings have two major implications: (a) online reviews may not be helpful in the context of healthcare services with credence aspects; (b) because treatments of chronic diseases have more credence good characteristics when compared with surgeries or other acute care services, one should not extrapolate research on surgeries and acute care services to chronic disease care. Rather, one should acquire a better understanding of the information conveyed in online reviews regarding a physician’s ability to deliver certain clinical outcomes before drawing inferences. Our findings have important ramifications for all stakeholders including hospitals, physicians, patients, payers, and policymakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Danish H. Saifee & Zhiqiang (Eric) Zheng & Indranil R. Bardhan & Atanu Lahiri, 2020. "Are Online Reviews of Physicians Reliable Indicators of Clinical Outcomes? A Focus on Chronic Disease Management," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(4), pages 1282-1300, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:31:y:2020:i:4:p:1282-1300
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2020.0945
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Liu, Fan & Liao, Huchang & Al-Barakati, Abdullah, 2023. "Physician selection based on user-generated content considering interactive criteria and risk preferences of patients," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Almorox, Eduardo Gonzalo & Stokes, Jonathan & Morciano, Marcello, 2022. "Has COVID-19 changed carer's views of health and care integration in care homes? A sentiment difference-in-difference analysis of on-line service reviews," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(11), pages 1117-1123.
    4. Xiaoxiao Liu & Mingye Hu & Bo Sophia Xiao & Jingbo Shao, 2022. "Is my doctor around me? Investigating the impact of doctors’ presence on patients’ review behaviors on an online health platform," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(9), pages 1279-1296, September.
    5. Singha, Sumanta & Arha, Himanshu & Kar, Arpan Kumar, 2023. "Healthcare analytics: A techno-functional perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Guetz, Bernhard & Bidmon, Sonja, 2023. "The Credibility of Physician Rating Websites: A Systematic Literature Review," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    7. Kummer, Michael E. & Laitenberger, Ulrich & Rich, Cyrus E. & Hughes, Danny R. & Ayer, Turgay, 2021. "Healthy reviews! Online physician ratings reduce healthcare interruptions," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-075, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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