Decision Making of Healthcare Consumers Based on Factors Associated with Online Review and Ratings

The study deals with understanding of the factors associated with online ratings and reviews that help the healthcare consumers in better decision making. Data was collected from 303 participants using mixed methods. The results indicate the factors that help in decision making which includes use of ratings as a reference, impact of positive and negative ratings, whether these ratings depict the actual worth of healthcare service provider and the relevance of these websites in decision making. This study concludes that there is significant relevance of online rating and review websites on healthcare consumers in selecting a healthcare provider.