Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40648573›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Ophthalmologists' Evaluation by Physician Review Websites-Do Only Soft Skills Matter? A Cross-National Analysis of over 70,000 Patient Reviews.

Wojciech Janikowski, Agnieszka Jóźwicka, Janusz Skrzypecki, Aleksandra Pyziak-Skupień, Jacek P Szaflik, Joanna Przybek-Skrzypecka

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Wojciech JanikowskiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 03-709 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0009-0008-4078-9698
Agnieszka JóźwickaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 03-709 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0009-0008-1130-1518
Janusz SkrzypeckiDepartment of Experimental Physiology and Pathophysiology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland.
Aleksandra Pyziak-SkupieńIndependent Researcher, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Jacek P SzaflikDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 03-709 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-9100-0847
Joanna Przybek-SkrzypeckaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 03-709 Warsaw, Poland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhysician rating websites (PRWs) are increasingly used by patients to assess healthcare providers, yet little is known about the factors influencing patient feedback in ophthalmology across different healthcare systems.

objectiveThis study aimed to identify variables associated with patient reviews of ophthalmologists, with a particular focus on soft skill-related feedback, and to compare trends between Polish and British healthcare systems.

methodsWe analyzed data on 461 verified ophthalmologists-261 from ZnanyLekarz.pl (Poland) and 200 from Doctify.com (UK)-collected between March and July 2024 with the highest number of reviews. Physician characteristics, including sex, academic title, years of experience, practice setting, specialization, and online presence, were examined. Review content was categorized into soft skills, professional abilities, or both. Statistical and multivariate analyses were performed to determine factors influencing (a) soft review frequency and (b) the profile of a top-rated ophthalmologist, defined as one with the highest overall ratings and a minimum of 100 reviews.

resultsWe analyzed a total of 70,176 patient reviews-55,786 from a Polish physician rating website (PRW) and 14,390 from a British PRW. Polish ophthalmologists received significantly more reviews than their British counterparts, with a median of 141 reviews per physician compared to 44 in the UK (

conclusionsPatient reviews are largely influenced by perceived interpersonal qualities rather than professional credentials or clinical experience. The active solicitation of patient feedback, as implemented on Polish physician rating platforms, results in over three times the volume of reviews compared to the British approach, which relies on passive voluntary submission without direct prompts.

Indexed as

online ratingophthalmologistpatient ratingpatient satisfactionphysician rating websitessoft skills

Identifiers

PMID40648573
PMCPMC12248785

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.