Do social media use and patient satisfaction scores correlate with online award recognition among hip and knee arthroplasty specialists?

Introduction: The physician-patient interaction now begins before patients arrive in the office. Online ratings, social media profiles, and online award status are all components of physician online reputation which contributes to the patient's initial impressions. Therefore, it is important to understand the interplay of these factors and determine if there is a consistent trend indicating the value of this information.

Methods: We Identified all (N ​= ​160) registered American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) in New England using the https://findadoctor.aahks.net/tool for Massachusetts (MA), Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), New Hampshire (NH), and Maine (ME) on 6/26/2023. We collected surgeon age, fellowship graduation year, and practice type (i.e. Academic or Private). The average 5-star rating and number of ratings were collected from four websites. Any professional-use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube Channel, Personal Websites, or Institutional Websites were identified and a modified SMI Score was calculated. Finally, Castle Connolly Top Doctor, Local Magazine (e.g. Boston Magazine) Top Doctor, or the presence of having any award was noted for each surgeon.

Results: We identified several significant trends indicating that online awards were associated with higher online ratings. Social media presence, as determined by SMI Score, was also correlated with higher ratings overall and a higher likelihood of having an online award.

Conclusion: Given the observed trends and reported importance patients place on ratings and awards, surgeons may consider increasing online engagement via social media and encouraging patients to share their experience via online ratings.