title: Parental awareness and use of online physician rating sites.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The US public is increasingly using online rating sites to make decisions about a variety of consumer goods and services, including physicians. We sought to understand, within the context of other types of rating sites, parents' awareness, perceptions, and use of physician-rating sites for choosing primary care physicians for their children.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of 3563 adults was conducted in September 2012. Participants were asked about rating Web sites in the context of finding a primary care physician for their children and about their previous experiences with such sites.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 2137 (60%) of participants completed the survey. Among these respondents, 1619 were parents who were included in the present analysis. About three-quarters (74%) of parents were aware of physician-rating sites, and about one-quarter (28%) had used them to select a primary care physician for their children. Based on 3 vignettes for which respondents were asked if they would follow a neighbor's recommendation about a primary care physician and using multivariate analyses, respondents exposed to a neighbor's recommendation and positive online physician ratings were significantly more likely to choose the recommended physician (adjusted odds ratio: 3.0 [95% confidence interval: 2.1-4.4]) than respondents exposed to the neighbor's recommendation alone. Conversely, respondents exposed to the neighbor's recommendation and negative online ratings were significantly less likely to choose the neighbor children's physician (adjusted odds ratio: 0.09 [95% confidence interval: 0.03-0.3]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents are beginning to use online physician ratings, and these ratings have the potential to influence choices of their children's primary care physician.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics; Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics; Comprehensive Cancer Center; Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research; School of Information; Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation; hanauer@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hanauer
authors.affiliation: Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics; Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research; School of Information; Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation; School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy;
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit, Division of General Pediatrics;
authors.forename: Dianne C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.affiliation: Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit, Division of General Pediatrics;
authors.forename: Achamyeleh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gebremariam
authors.affiliation: Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation; School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy; Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit, Division of General Pediatrics; Division of General Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine; and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Matthew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Internet; child; clinical competence; consumer health information; health care; online systems; parents; patient satisfaction; physicians; primary care physicians; quality indicators; surveys