Understanding a New Age of Physician Ratings via Sentiment Analysis: How are Patients Reviewing Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Online?

Abstract

Background Physician review websites have a significant influence on patients with regard to provider selection. The goal of this study was to utilize machine learning to understand what influences patient ratings for shoulder and elbow surgeons online. Methods All reviews and ratings were obtained from Healthgrades.com. The “Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner” (VADER) software was used to score the ratings on a scale between -1 and +1. Word frequency analysis was also performed to provide context to the words used to describe surgeons; both positive and negative word frequencies were analyzed. A multiple logistic regression identified the odds these words/phrases were associated with a sentiment score >0.50. Both star ratings (out of 5 points) and sentiment scores were collected. Results 493 surgeons (6,381 reviews) were included. There was no difference in ratings based on gender or geography. Age analysis indicated that star ratings and sentiment scores were lower for older providers (p<0.01). “Pain” was the most commonly used phrase in both the best and worst reviewed surgeon reports. When a comment included the phrases “knowledgeable”, “confident”, “listen[s]”, “recommend”, or “comfortable”, surgeons’ online ratings were 1.6x, 2.7x, 3.2x, 2.6x, and 3.8x more likely to be positive (p<0.01). Approximately 1 out of 5 reviews included mention of ancillary characteristics (e.g., “wait”, “front desk”, “office”). Conclusion This unique code allows surgeons to analyze their field, from the individual to health system level, to see how they are being reviewed online. For shoulder and elbow surgeons, this study showed that more positive online reviews were seen for surgeons who are younger, have reduced office wait times, and have overall positive patient perceptions. Pain and pain management were the primary determinants of overall scores. As online ratings can influence a patient’s choice of provider, surgeons should consider implementing these findings to optimize their practice.