A new NYSHealth-funded report by the Manhattan Institute finds that user-generated ratings of hospitals in New York State do align with more objective quality measures and that Yelp star ratings can be a valid proxy, providing free, accurate, and easy-to-understand quality indicators for hospital care. Although Yelp should not be used as a sole predictor of hospital quality, the report finds Yelp can present patients with an opportunity for navigating the health care system more easily. It also recommends that policymakers explore simple reforms to make social media reviews on hospital quality more readily available to patients to help them in their decision making.
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