Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Physician review websites have empowered prospective patients to acquire information about physicians. However, little is known about how Web-based ratings on different aspects of a physician may affect patients’ selection of physicians differently.
Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine (1) how patients weigh ratings on a physician’s technical skills and interpersonal skills in their selection of physicians and (2) whether and how people’s choice of a primary care physician versus a specialist is affected differently by Web-based ratings.
Who can participate?
Anyone over the age of 18 living in the USA can participate.
What does the study involve?
Participants are asked to view a screenshot of a webpage of a (faux) physician review site with manipulations on the doctor type (general physician vs. speciality), patients’ ratings (interpersonal and technical skills), and the order of the ratings presented. Participants were instructed to go to a questionnaire on the next page once they feel they have a good understanding of the webpage and can answer questions about it.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
none
Where is the study run from?
Derby Hall, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March to April 2017
Who is funding the study?
The School of Communication at The Ohio State University
Who is the main contact?
Dr Siyue Li,
li.6836@osu.edu
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Siyue Li
ORCID ID
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8448-0819
Contact details
3058 Derby Hall
154 N. Oval Mall
Columbus
43210
United States of America
614-292-4040
li.6836@osu.edu
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
Nil known
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Nil known
Protocol/serial number
2017B0066
Study information
Scientific title
The impact of web-based ratings on patient choice of a primary care physician versus a specialist: a randomized controlled experiment
Acronym
Study hypothesis
RQ1: Are people more willing to choose a physician with higher ratings on technical skills than on interpersonal skills, or a physician with higher ratings on interpersonal skills than on technical skills?
H1: People are more willing to choose a specialist who has higher ratings on technical skills than on interpersonal skills, compared with a primary care physician who has the same ratings.
H2: People are more willing to choose a primary care physician who has higher ratings on interpersonal skills than on technical skills, compared with a specialist who has the same ratings.
Ethics approval
Approved 03/01/2017, The Institutional Review Board at The Ohio State University (300 Research Administration building, 1960 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1063; +1(614) 688-8457; stoddard.13@osu.edu), ref: 2017B0066.
Study design
Interventional randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Internet
Trial type
Other
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Healthy volunteers
Intervention
This experiment was conducted using Qualtrics Labs, Inc. software (www.qualtrics.com). A 2 (ratings on communication skills: high vs. moderate) x 2 (ratings on technical skills: high vs. moderate) x 2 (physician speciality: general practitioner vs. specialist) x 2 (order of ratings: interpersonal skills first vs. technical skills first) factorial design was employed in the study. To control for the ordering effect of ratings, we either placed ratings on interpersonal skills before or after ratings on technical skills.
Participants were recruited on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and were offered one dollar for their participation. They were randomly assigned to one of the 16 experimental conditions and then asked to view a screenshot of a webpage of a (faux) physician review site with manipulations on the doctor type (general physician vs. speciality), patients’ ratings (interpersonal and technical skills), and the order of the ratings presented. Participants were instructed to go to a questionnaire on the next page once they feel they have a good understanding of the webpage and can answer questions about it. Before exposure to their randomly assigned experimental condition, the participant was reading a brief narrative, explaining that they need to either choose a primary care physician or a specialist.
A total of 16 versions of the faux PRS pages will be created for this study. Each page contains four rating categories about a faux physician, including two items on technical skills and two on interpersonal skills. In conditions with high skills in certain aspects, a physician receives 5 stars on the corresponding items. In conditions with a moderate level of skills, the physician receives 3 stars on the matching items.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
1. Perception of the physician measured using a novel questionnaire.
2. Willingness to select the physician measured using a novel questionnaire.
Secondary outcome measures
1. Online health information seeking measured using a novel questionnaire.
2. Previous health experiences (i.e. surgery) measured using a novel questionnaire.
3. Demographic information measured using a novel questionnaire.
Overall trial start date
15/01/2017
Overall trial end date
12/04/2017
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1 At least 18 years old
2. Live in the United States
3. Proficient in the English language
Participant type
Healthy volunteer
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
900
Total final enrolment
608
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Failed the attention checks
2. Spent no time or less than 5 seconds on the Web page
Recruitment start date
01/03/2017
Recruitment end date
12/04/2017
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United States of America
Trial participating centre
Derby Hall, The Ohio State University
154 N. Oval Mall
Columbus
43210
United States of America
Sponsor information
Organisation
The School of Communication at The Ohio State University
Sponsor details
3016 Derby Hall
154 N. Oval Mall
Columbus
43210
United States of America
614 292-3400
schofcomm@osu.edu
Sponsor type
University/education
Website
Funders
Funder type
University/education
Funder name
Ohio State University
Alternative name(s)
OSU
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
Universities (academic only)
Location
United States of America
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
The paper was accepted by Journal of Medical Internet Research
IPD sharing statement:
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available due to IRB approval restrictions.
Intention to publish date
30/06/2019
Participant level data
Not expected to be available
Basic results (scientific)
The results showed that participants were more willing to choose a physician with higher ratings on technical skills than on interpersonal skills compared with a physician with higher ratings on interpersonal skills than on technical skills, t369.96=22.36, P<.001, Cohen d=1.22. In the selection of different types of physicians, patients were more likely to choose a specialist with higher ratings on technical skills than on interpersonal skills, compared with a primary care physician with the same ratings, F1,521=5.34, P=.021.
Publication list
2019 results in: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31254337 (added 01/07/2019)