What Are Patients Saying About Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons Online
By Admin | April 23, 2022
Abstract
Objective
Physician review websites are becoming increasingly popular for patients to find and review healthcare providers. The goal of this study was to utilize quantitative analyses to understand trends in ratings and written comments on physician review websites for Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) members.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study. The reviews of SMISS surgeons were obtained from healthgrades.com, and sentiment analysis was used to obtain compound scores of each physicians' reviews. SMISS surgeons who were international or had fewer than three written reviews, often consisting of residents and fellows, were excluded. Inferential statistics were utilized, and word frequency analysis reported the phrases used to characterize reviews.
Results
One hundred sixty-nine surgeons met the inclusion criteria. 98.6% were males and the mean age was 51.7 years old. A total of 2,235 written reviews were analyzed. Younger surgeons were significantly more likely to receive higher star ratings (p<0.01). Positive behavioral characteristics, such as “kind” and “bedside manner,” conferred significantly improved odds of receiving positive reviews (p<0.01). Ancillary “staff” conferred a 2x greater odds of receiving a positive review whereas a comment on “wait” times halved a surgeon’s odds (p<0.01). Sentences describing pain drove down the odds of positive reviews whereas those describing pain relief produced greater odds of positive reviews (p<0.01).
Conclusion
Physicians who were younger, personable, provided sufficient pain relief, and who worked in favorable offices received the most positive reviews. This study informs SMISS members on the traits deemed important by patients who ultimately review surgeons online.
Introduction
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) is quickly becoming a staple within the orthopedic and neurosurgical fields. Current trends in MISS have seen an increase in its use over the last few decades, and minimally invasive surgery is the fastest growing market segment within spine surgery [1-2]. MISS techniques are being used for fusion, decompression, and tumor excision surgeries throughout the...(More)
For more info please read, What Are Patients Saying About Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons Online, by Cureus
