The researchers analyzed about 2.8 million online patient reviews across 179,073 physicians and locations. Here are five notable findings from the report:
- Online review volume jumped 50 percent for hospitals and 58 percent for physicians in 2021 compared with 2020.
- Seventy-two percent of U.S. adults read online patient ratings and reviews when choosing a provider, and 65 percent of U.S. adults said they expect providers to respond to reviews.
- Seventy-two percent of healthcare consumers want their provider to be rated 4 out of 5 stars or higher in online reviews.
- Google is the most popular source among healthcare consumers for searching for providers — more popular than provider websites, healthcare-specific websites or social media.
- A physician’s bedside manner is the biggest driver of positive sentiment among healthcare consumers. Ratings of staff were one of the biggest drivers of negative sentiment.
