Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Opinion
October 20, 2018 12:00 AM

Commentary: Healthcare consumer reviews are here to stay. Adapt or be defined

Leah Binder
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Leah Binder is president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group.

    In this digital age, 85% of people are willing to trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. While many healthcare ratings services exist, by and large providers have been spared from an onslaught of individual reviews.

    This is no doubt due, in part, to the hesitance of patients to criticize doctors and other clinicians about the quality of care they receive. But providers should not expect this trend to continue. People are increasingly confident about expressing their views, and they will not exempt the healthcare system from getting transparent customer feedback. Not only is it quixotic for providers to try to block this growing trend, it's counter-productive.

    Third-party reviews are not always scientific, though some are based on rigorous reviews of publicly available data and other research. Most are streams of consciousness or general opinions from happy or disgruntled patients. It is all part of the larger movements of transparency and consumerism that have transformed other industries, like retail sales and entertainment.

    It's highly unlikely providers will agree with everything shared in these reviews. Some patients may equate good care with the quality of a hospital's food or the majesty of its atrium, while others will ask questions about infection rates, complications and outcomes. Some will care about the validity of comparing a provider with a high-risk patient population against a provider with lower-risk patients. Others will simply offer their perspective.

    Nonetheless, early literature suggests group sourcing of consumer experiences can provide insights that correlate with outcomes data, even in highly complex environments like hospitals. In 2015, the Journal of General Internal Medicine published a comparative analysis of hospital reviews on Facebook with Hospital Compare and found that hospitals with the best scores on Facebook demonstrated lower rates of 30-day hospitalwide unplanned readmissions.

    But healthcare providers are unaccustomed to online reviews, and some have reacted defensively instead. A few have even tried inserting language in contracts forbidding the posting of poor reviews, or sued to remove reviews or ratings once posted. Legislation and case law suggest these are bad ideas. A federal law passed in 2016, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, now makes it illegal for companies to include contract provisions that threaten or penalize people for posting honest reviews. For example, in an online transaction, it would be illegal for a company to include a provision in its terms and conditions that prohibits or punishes negative reviews by customers.

    The courts have also upheld free ratings. The Leapfrog Group was sued by a hospital to change one of our public ratings, but as expected, the judge dismissed the hospital's motion with prejudice, citing Leapfrog's First Amendment protections.

    Ultimately, whatever providers think of the relevance and validity of online reviews, what matters most to patients should matter to providers—and online reviews are a key source of that insight. Hospitals, doctors, ambulatory surgery centers and hospital outpatient departments that use ratings productively will have a competitive edge. They can learn from reviews how patients perceive their services, what's really important to consumers, and how to improve. At little or no cost, even a small hospital can cultivate a world-class reputation by building a strong profile of reviews.

    It's human nature to react defensively to public criticism. But successful healthcare leaders will overcome that impulse and lean into transparency. We believe the obvious place to start is by focusing first on rating systems that have rigorous methodologies utilizing publicly available data. These results will serve as a hedge against anecdotal reviews and allow for improvement to take place before the online reviews overwhelm providers.

    Whether it's the precedent set by Leapfrog's recent court victory or by protections promised in the Consumer Review Fairness Act, resources spent trying to muzzle critics are better spent using the reviews for candid self-assessment and quality improvement. It's not easy, but it's the right thing to do and a win for everyone.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    A stethoscope resting on a stack of 100-dollar bills
    Digital health funding on pace for worst year since 2019: report
    mccarthy healthcare 1.png
    Hospital, health program cuts delayed under stopgap spending deal
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing