Impact of Online Reviews on Patient Decision-Making in Hospitals

Abstract

The proliferation of online review platforms such as Practo, Google Reviews, JustDial, and hospital-specific rating portals has fundamentally reshaped how patients select healthcare providers in India. Unlike traditional word-of-mouth referrals, digital reviews offer instant, searchable, and quantified assessments of hospital service quality, doctor competence, waiting times, billing transparency, and hygiene standards. This paper investigates the extent to which online reviews influence patient decision-making when selecting hospitals, and identifies which review attributes—star ratings, review recency, review volume, or narrative content—carry the greatest weight in the decision process. A descriptive-cum-exploratory research design was adopted, combining a structured survey of 220 patients and caregivers across multi-specialty hospitals in Hyderabad with secondary data drawn from hospital review aggregators and healthcare marketing literature. Findings indicate that 71% of respondents consult online reviews before selecting a hospital for non-emergency treatment, with star rating and recency of reviews emerging as the most decisive factors, followed by the presence of detailed narrative feedback regarding staff behaviour and cleanliness. Negative reviews concerning billing disputes and long waiting times were found to disproportionately deter prospective patients even when overall ratings remained high. The study also finds that hospitals which actively respond to reviews are perceived as more trustworthy. The paper concludes with actionable recommendations for hospital administrators on review management, reputation monitoring, and digital patient engagement strategy.