FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PATIENTS’ RECOMMENDATION OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS: AN ANALYSIS OF A POPULAR ONLINE RATING WEBSITE

BACKGROUND: In the modern digital age, patients are increasingly consulting online physician reviews prior to making healthcare decisions. Physician review websites are being used in many medical fields including orthopaedic surgery. The purpose of this study is to investigate trends in online physician reviews and determine which factors are most strongly correlated with the likelihood that an orthopaedic surgeon is to be recommended by patients. METHODS: Healthgrades.com, the most comprehensive physician rating and comparison database, was queried for “orthopaedic surgery” in the state of New Jersey. Demographic information, fellowship training status, years of experience, malpractice/disciplinary actions, physician ratings and the likelihood to recommend score (LTRS) was collected for all physicians. Quantitative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, student t-test, and one-way ANOVA. Qualitative analysis of randomly selected positive comments and all negative comments was conducted. Common themes were identified using frequency-based word cloud generator. RESULTS: 834 board certified orthopaedic surgeons (800 Males, 34 Females), with a mean age of 55.7±12.5 years and an average LTRS of 4.1±0.84 were included for analysis. Compared with non-fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeons, fellowship trained surgeons were more likely to be recommend by patients [3.8 vs. 4.3; P< 0.0001]. Physicians with waiting time <10min were more likely to be recommended compared with their counterparts with waiting time >10min (P< 0.0001). No differences were observed in LTRS between male and female orthopaedic surgeons (P= 0.79) or based on malpractice status (P= 0.61). Qualitative analysis of a randomly selected sample of 4,151 out of a total of 12,168 positive comments and 1,113 total negative comments revealed that positive comments centered on surgeon competence and professionalism, while negative comments centered on surgeon personality and waiting time. CONCLUSION: Orthopaedic surgeons have generally favorable ratings and mostly positive comments. Fellowship status and waiting time are important factors that impact LTRS. Patients were more likely to write positive comments about surgeon competence and professionalism, and negative comments pertaining to surgeon personality and waiting time. Knowledge of surgeon specific attributes that are important to patients may help educate orthopaedic surgeons to improve patient care, patient satisfaction and online ratings. TABLES AND FIGURES: