Do Adults Seeking Information About Health Providers Use Online Rankings, Reviews?
Thirty-five percent of U.S. adults have used the Internet to find information about physicians or other health care professionals, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation. CHCF is the publisher of iHealthBeat. About 37% of adults who have looked online for information about health care professionals report consulting health care provider ranking or review Web sites. However, just 7% of those who looked for information about health providers online reported posting a review of a physician online. According to the survey, online women, Internet users younger than age 65, and Internet users with higher levels of income and education were significantly more likely than other demographic groups to seek information about health care providers online. Results are based on telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates from Nov. 19, 2008, to Dec. 20, 2008, among a national sample of 2,253 adults.
