Study: Online reviews can flag strengths, weaknesses in the ED and urgent care

Plenty of healthcare providers are still skeptical about the value of online patient reviews. But a new study found that the data can help identify some of the strengths and weaknesses in emergency and urgent care. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine analyzed more than 100,000 reviews posted on Yelp between 2005 and 2017 and found several themes emerged in providers that were given high ratings and those rated poorly. Highly ranked ERs were rated positively for physician bedside manner, that family members were treated well and for access on off-hours like nights and weekends. The best-reviewed urgent care centers, meanwhile, received praise from patients for ease in processes like filling prescriptions, according to the study.