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Factors Influencing Online Patient-Reported Ratings Among Adult Reconstructive Surgeons
Kene Okafor1, Sameer R Khawaja2, Kevin Y Heo1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Background:
Patient-reported ratings can significantly impact patient recruitment. Various factors may affect these ratings on physician review websites (PRWs), including social media presence, academic output, type of fellowship training, and work environment. This study explores how these elements are associated with patient interaction on PRWs.
Methods:
The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons directory was searched for all active members and 250 were randomly selected. A summative social media presence score was calculated. Each surgeon's practice setting, region of practice, medical school, residency, Hirsch index, and ratings on PRWs were recorded. Data were used for statistical comparison.
Results:
A total of 239 surgeons were analyzed (237 men, 2 women). Surgeons in the top 15% of social media presence demonstrated higher average ratings on Google Reviews (4.7 vs 4.4, P < .05) than those in the bottom 85%. Surgeons from top 20 medical schools or residency programs had significantly higher Hirsch index scores (14.7 vs 6.8 and 13.8 vs 6.0, respectively; P < .05), but no consistent advantage in patient ratings.
Conclusions:
Surgeon and practice characteristics may play a role in patient ratings of surgeons. We found that having a higher social media presence was associated with higher patient ratings. Factors such as research productivity, medical school and residency prestige, and region of practice may not play a role in patient ratings. These findings may help adult reconstruction surgeons better understand factors associated with patient engagement and ratings on PRWs.
Level Of Evidence:
Level IV.