How Patient Comments Affect Consumers’ Use of Physician Performance Measures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9100556 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David E Kanouse (RAND Corporation, corresponding author), Mark Schlesinger (0000-0002-7142-8667, Yale University), Dale Shaller (0000-0002-2732-5214), Steven C Martino (0000-0002-1514-4133, RAND Corporation), Lise Rybowski |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 24-31 |
| Publication date | 2016-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medical Care (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0025-7079 • E-ISSN: 1537-1948 |
| Publisher | Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000443 |
| PMID | 26551765 |
| OpenAlex | W2147265611 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 30 |
BACKGROUND: Patients' comments about doctors are increasingly available on the internet. The effects of these anecdotal accounts on consumers' engagement with reports on doctor quality, use of more statistically reliable performance measures, and ability to choose doctors wisely are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of providing patient comments along with standardized performance information in a web-based public report. DESIGN: Participants were randomly assigned to view 1 of 6 versions of a website presenting comparative performance information on fictitious primary care doctors. Versions varied by the combination of information types [Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), and patient comments] and number of doctors. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of working-age adults (N=848) from an online panel representing the noninstitutionalized population of the United States. MAIN MEASURES: Time spent and actions taken on the website, probing of standardized measures, and decision quality (chosen doctor rated highest on quantifiable metrics, chosen doctor not dominated by another choice). Secondary outcomes were perceived usefulness and trustworthiness of performance metrics and evaluations of the website. KEY RESULTS: Inclusion of patient comments increased time spent on the website by 35%-42% and actions taken (clicks) by 106%-117% compared with versions presenting only CAHPS and HEDIS measures (P<0.01). It also reduced participants' attention to standardized measures (eg, percentage of time probing HEDIS measures dropped by 67%, P<0.01). When patient comments were present, fewer participants chose the doctor scoring highest on standardized metrics (44%-49% vs. 61%-62%, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Including patient comments in physician performance reports enhances consumers' engagement but reduces their attention to standardized measures and substantially increases suboptimal choices. More research is needed to explore whether integrated reporting strategies could leverage the positive effects of patient comments on consumer engagement without undermining consumers' use of other important metrics for informing choice among doctors
Affect (linguistics) · Family medicine · Health care · MEDLINE · Population · Quality (philosophy) · Set (abstract data type) · The Internet · Trustworthiness · Computer Science · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Medicine · Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Effect of Forced Choice on Choice
Narrative valuation in a policy judgment context
The affect heuristic in judgments of risks and benefits
Public Reporting in Health Care
Consumer Response to Patient Experience Measures in Complex Information Environments
National Surveys Via Rdd Telephone Interviewing Versus the Internet
Belief in the law of small numbers
Comparing Dynamic Consumer Choice in Real and Computer-Simulated Environments
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2025 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |