Abstract
Background Patients often turn to online reviews as a source of information to inform their
decisions regarding care. Existing literature has analyzed factors associated with
positive online patient ratings among hand and wrist surgeons. However, there is limited
in-depth analysis of factors associated with low patient satisfaction for hand and
wrist surgeons. The focus of this study is to examine and characterize extremely negative
reviews of hand and wrist surgeons on Yelp.com.
Methods A search was performed using the keywords “hand surgery” on Yelp.com for eight major
metropolitan areas including Washington DC, Dallas, New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle. Only single-star reviews (out of a possible 5
stars) of hand and wrist surgeons were included. The complaints in the 1-star reviews
were then categorized into clinical and nonclinical categories.
Result A total of 233 single-star reviews were included for analysis, which resulted in
468 total complaints. Of these complaints, 81 (18.8%) were clinically related and
351 (81.3%) were nonclinical in nature. The most common clinical complaints were for
complication (24 complaints, 6%), misdiagnosis (16 complaints, 4%), unclear treatment
plan (16 complaints, 4%), and uncontrolled pain (15 complaints, 3%). The most common
nonclinical complaints were for physician bedside manner (93 complaints, 22%), financially
related (80 complaints, 19%), unprofessional nonclinical staff (61 complaints, 14%),
and wait time (46 complaints, 11%). The difference in the number of complaints for
surgical and nonsurgical patients was statistically significant (p < 0.05) for complication and uncontrolled pain.
Clinical Relevance Patient satisfaction is dependent on a multitude of clinical and nonclinical factors.
An awareness of online physician ratings is essential for hand and wrist surgeons
to maintain and improve patient care and patient satisfaction. We believe the results
of our study could be used to further improve the quality of care provided by hand
and wrist surgeons.
Keywords
hand and wrist - hand surgery - Yelp - physician rating - clinical complaint - complaint
- nonclinical complaint
