The impact of social media presence,age, and patient reported wait times on physician review websites for sports medicine surgeons
Institution:
1. University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA;2. University of Miami, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 1611 NW 12th Ave, Miami, FL, 33136, USA;3. Texas Spine Consultants, 17051 Dallas Pkwy #400, Addison, TX, 75001, USA;4. Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center, 1611 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA;1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cairo University Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt;2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Menoufia University Faculty of Medicine, Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia, Egypt;1. Department of Spine Surgery, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Mathura Road, New Delhi, 110076, India;2. Institute of Spine, Jaypee Hospital, Sector 128, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201304, India;1. Dept of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai, India;2. Assistant Professor, Bone and Soft Tissue Services, Dept of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, and Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai, India;3. Fellow, Bone and Soft Tissue Services, Dept of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, and Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai, India;4. Assistant Professor (adhoc), Dept of Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, and Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai, India;1. Departments of Musculoskeletal Radiology, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, UK;2. Departments of Spinal Surgery, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, UK;3. Departments of Musculoskeletal Radiology, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, London, UK
Abstract:
BackgroundWhen choosing physicians, patients often review options online via physician review websites, which may influence decisions on providers.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of social media usage, age, and patient reported wait times on online ratings for three popular review websites.Study designCross-sectional study.MethodsThe American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine database was used to extract demographic information for all listed sports medicine surgeons in Florida. Overall ratings, number of ratings and comments, and patient reported wait-times were recorded from three leading review websites (Healthgrades.com, Vitals.com, Google.com). Professionally focused SM accounts were searched for each physician on Facebook.com, Twitter.com, Instagram, and LinkedIn.com.Results102 orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons were included. At least one form of social media was used by 62.4% of our cohort. Those with social media had higher overall online physician ratings out of 5.00 across all review websites (Google:4.65vs4.44, p = 0.05; Healthgrades:4.41vs4.15, p = 0.03; Vitals:4.43vs4.14, p = 0.01). In bivariate analysis, older age was associated with lower ratings on Health Grades (Absolute difference (AD) ?0.26, p < 0.0001), and social media was linked to higher ratings (Google: AD 0.21, p = 0.05; Healthgrades: AD 0.26, p = 0.03; Vitals: AD 0.29, p = 0.008). Longer wait times were associated with lower ratings in a dose-dependent manner in both bivariate and multivariable analysis.ConclusionsSocial media use among sports medicine surgeons correlated with higher overall physician ratings. Potentially, younger surgeons increase social media use because of a heightened concern for online image, whereas older surgeons may have less value in using online platforms to capitalize on an online presence. Older age and increased patient reported wait times in office had a negative correlation with online reviews, which highlights that factors beyond the surgeon's skill sets can influence overall ratings.
