Social Media and Rating Sites as Tools to Understanding Quality of Care: A Scoping Review

Abstract

BackgroundInsight into the quality of health care is important for any stakeholder including patients, professionals, and governments. In light of a patient-centered approach, it is essential to assess the quality of health care from a patient’s perspective, which is commonly done with surveys or focus groups. Unfortunately, these “traditional” methods have significant limitations that include social desirability bias, a time lag between experience and measurement, and difficulty reaching large groups of people. Information on social media could be of value to overcoming these limitations, since these new media are easy to use and are used by the majority of the population. Furthermore, an increasing number of people share health care experiences online or rate the quality of their health care provider on physician rating sites. The question is whether this information is relevant to determining or predicting the quality of health care.ObjectiveThe goal of our research was to systematically analyze the relation between information shared on social media and quality of care.MethodsWe performed a scoping review with the following goals: (1) to map the literature on the association between social media and quality of care, (2) to identify different mechanisms of this relationship, and (3) to determine a more detailed agenda for this relatively new research area. A recognized scoping review methodology was used. We developed a search strategy based on four themes: social media, patient experience, quality, and health care. Four online scientific databases were searched, articles were screened, and data extracted. Results related to the research question were described and categorized according to type of social media. Furthermore, national and international stakeholders were consulted throughout the study, to discuss and interpret results.ResultsTwenty-nine articles were included, of which 21 were concerned with health care rating sites. Several studies indicate a relationship between information on social media and quality of health care. However, some drawbacks exist, especially regarding the use of rating sites. For example, since rating is anonymous, rating values are not risk adjusted and therefore vulnerable to fraud. Also, ratings are often based on only a few reviews and are predominantly positive. Furthermore, people providing feedback on health care via social media are presumably not always representative for the patient population.ConclusionsSocial media and particularly rating sites are an interesting new source of information about quality of care from the patient’s perspective. This new source should be used to complement traditional methods, since measuring quality of care via social media has other, but not less serious, limitations. Future research should explore whether social media are suitable in practice for patients, health insurers, and governments to help them judge the quality performance of professionals and organizations.

Hospital Evaluations by Social Media: A Comparative Analysis of Facebook Ratings among Performance Outliers

“…However, interest in the role of social media in assessing patient satisfaction and hospital quality is growing. 11 The findings in our study are similar to those of others in both the U.S. and UK, suggesting that unsolicited ratings and feedback are associated with patient satisfaction and objective measures of quality. One study evaluated the relationship between hospital ratings on Yelp and those on the Hospital CAHPS ® (HCAHPS; Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey.…”

“…These findings add support to the small but growing body of literature suggesting that unsolicited feedback on social media and hospital ratings sites corresponds to patient satisfaction and objective measures of hospital quality. 11,23,31 Secondly, 88 % of hospitals in this study had a Facebook page, which is similar to estimates published in other studies. 32 This finding suggests that hospital leaders find value or necessity in maintaining a social media presence.…”

“…Quantitative study of the relationship between usergenerated ratings/feedback on social media and hospital quality measures is relatively new within healthcare 11 . However, interest in the role of social media in assessing patient satisfaction and hospital quality is growing.…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7] Nevertheless, healthcare social media has evolved from simple information-sharing functions to addressing complex public health problems such as healthcare quality and safety, disaster preparedness, and pandemic surveillance. [8][9][10][11][12] The Office of Health Information Technology within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges the importance of tracking and responding to social media's growing role in healthcare. 13 Shared experiences about satisfaction and quality of healthcare organizations and providers posted online may influence consumers' healthcare decision-making in the coming years.…”

“…2 Few studies have provided quantitative analysis of social media utilization by healthcare organizations or the relationship between end-user metrics and hospital quality and/or outcomes. 11,21,22 However, emerging studies suggest that feedback and ratings on social media and other online rating tools may be correlated with patient satisfaction and objective measures of hospital quality and safety 23 .…”