What influence do regional satisfaction indicators have on the complaint behaviour of patients? Analysis of anonymous physician ratings in Web 2.0

The aim of the analysis of anonymous physician ratings in Web 2.0 to be carried out within the scope of this project is not only to measure patient satisfaction, to generate a detailed picture of experience and complaints, but also to clarify existing "patient myths". For example, do older patients complain more often, faster or more intensively than younger patients? Are private patients really treated better and if so, do they spend less time in the waiting room? To what extent does the regional origin influence the complaint behaviour?

The aim of measuring patient satisfaction is to sustainably improve the doctor-patient relationship. Only if patient satisfaction is adequately interpreted is it possible to optimise the range of services for the patient and to satisfy the patient. Satisfied patients are more likely to adhere to the prescribed treatment and to take advice from healthcare professionals. You have greater trust, are more willing to cooperate and are more open in your personal doctor-patient dialogue. Since a satisfied patient is also a key criterion for the long-term economic success of a practice, the survey and appropriate interpretation of patient satisfaction leads to a "win-win situation" for both the doctor and the patient.

In contrast to previous, classical patient satisfaction surveys via telephone or other media with (direct) interviewer contact, our patient satisfaction measurement via rating platforms in Web 2.0 enables the collection of a more undistorted opinion. The willingness to express complaints increases in the anonymity of the Internet, because the patient has no need to hide his honest opinion for reasons of politeness, fear of an unpleasant situation or violation of the sensitive doctor-patient relationship.

Patient satisfaction is examined under several aspects. Among other things, health insurance membership is important. Here it is assumed that the individual experiences of private and statutory health insurance patients differ. It is also assumed that the assessment criteria (including "waiting time" and "treatment time") are assigned different relevance depending on the type of insurance. This is accompanied by the assumption that private patients are exposed to shorter waiting times. In addition to the cash-specific aspects, data on age and gender provide information on complaint behaviour and patient satisfaction: it is assumed that men have higher patient satisfaction and that complaints about medical services increase with age.

Another special aspect of our research project is the consideration of regional satisfaction indicators (quality of life, level of income, employment rate) within a country in the investigation of patient complaint behaviour. To what extent does the regional origin shape the complaint behaviour? Are people from happier regions more willing to complain than people from other, less happy regions? Consideration of such factors that affect patient complaint behaviour but have nothing to do with treatment quality per se is essential in order to draw correct conclusions from the measured patient satisfaction.

In order to generate a more detailed picture of experience and complaints, a comprehensive analysis of the online experience reviews is intended. The focus of the methodological interest is the testing of computer-linguistic methods of data collection and evaluation of physician ratings.

Computer-aided data generation allows particularly large amounts of data to be collected, so that they can then be evaluated by specially developed analysis algorithms. In order to consider regional satisfaction indicators in the analysis of patient satisfaction, a regional segmentation of patient satisfaction takes place, as can be seen in the figure above as an example. This allows patients a qualified information and complaint behaviour in which the service can be compared regionally.