Neurosurgery Resident Barrow Neurological Institute Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Introduction: Physician rating websites (PRWs) are increasingly utilized by patients to find providers. Previous studies have shown that social media presence and completion of a fellowship are associated with higher ratings for neurosurgeons on PRWs. This study specifically analyzes spine neurosurgeons’ ratings on HealthGrades and correlation with academic productivity.
Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in November 2022 reviewing a sample of 500 spine neurosurgeons as listed in the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) database. Neurosurgeons were excluded if they had no reviews on HealthGrades or if they had no clear citation data on Scopus or Google Scholar. Age, gender, state of practice, academic degrees, HealthGrades score, and number of reviewers were collected. Academic productivity data included H-index, number of publications, and number of citations as listed by Scopus or Google Scholar. Linear regression was performed to determine correlation between Healthgrades scores and academic productivity markers.
Results: 234 neurosurgeons who sub-specialize in spine met inclusion criteria. Average age was 61 years (range 34-94), and 97% were male (n=227). 231 surgeons had an MD, 3 had DO degrees, 8 had PhDs, and 5 had other degrees (MBA, MPH, etc). Average HealthGrades rating and number of reviewers were 4.11 and 24.6, respectively. Average H-index, publication number, and citation number were 9.5 (range 1-76), 30.4 (range 1-346), and 904 (range 1-27810), respectively. Neither H-index (R2 =0.0004), publication number (R2 =0.0007), nor citation number (R2 =0.0029) correlated with Healthgrades ratings.
Conclusion : Spine neurosurgeon rating on HealthGrades does not correlate with academic productivity as measured by H-index, publication number, and citation number. When patients rate surgeons on PRWs, social factors likely influence patient perceptions more than academic factors.
