SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Characterizing the Relationship Between Hospital Google Star Ratings, Hcahps Scores, and Quality

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This study examined whether hospital Google star ratings (GSRs) reflect hospital quality and patient experience, using data from 4,437 acute care hospitals. The authors scraped Google review data in August 2020 and linked it to CMS Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores, readmission measures, mortality/safety measures, and hospital characteristics.<br /><br />Hospitals were grouped by Google ratings, with 3.5 stars used as a cutoff. Higher-rated hospitals tended to have better HCAHPS scores: they had higher overall patient experience ratings and a higher likelihood of being recommended. High-GSR hospitals also showed statistically significant but very small improvements in some quality measures, including surgical readmissions, medical quality, and surgical quality.<br /><br />However, the relationship between Google stars and objective quality was weak. Correlations between mean Google star ratings and composite quality measures were small, ranging from -0.065 for medical readmissions to -0.13 for surgical quality. The authors concluded that while Google ratings are positively associated with patient experience and some quality metrics, the effect sizes are minimal and GSRs are a poor predictor of CMS-defined hospital quality.<br /><br />The study suggests that consumers may use Google reviews as a proxy for hospital quality, but this may be misleading. The authors recommend exploring better, more timely tools for helping patients evaluate hospitals, including real-time measures and other outcomes such as medication errors, misdiagnoses, and costs.<br /><br />Limitations include possible misattribution of reviews to the wrong hospital and the inability to know what type of care reviewers actually received.

Asset Subtitle

Michael I. Ellenbogen

Meta Tag

Author List Daniel J. Brotman, Michael I. Ellenbogen, Nayoung Rim, Paul Ellenbogen

Category Research

Concept Hospital Google Star Rating

Concept HCAHPS Score

Concept CMS Quality Measures

Concept CMS Stars

Concept Likelihood to Recommend

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Presenting Author Michael I. Ellenbogen

Track Outcomes Research

Keywords

hospital Google star ratings

patient experience

hospital quality

HCAHPS scores

Google reviews

CMS quality measures

readmission rates

mortality and safety

acute care hospitals

healthcare consumer ratings

Hospital Google Star Rating

HCAHPS Score

CMS Quality Measures

CMS Stars

Likelihood to Recommend