Big Surprise......
A new study by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology shows that Yelp reviewers give nursing homes significantly less favorable ratings than those found on the federal website, Nursing Home Compare, run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“Consumers view the quality of nursing homes as poorer than the CMS is reporting it to be,” said Anna Rahman, a co-author of the report and an assistant research professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School.
Both the Nursing Home Compare website and the popular online business ratings site, Yelp, feature five-star rating systems to help consumers evaluate nursing homes
The study published in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety on Nov. 13 showed that a nursing home’s Yelp rating differed from the Nursing Home Compare rating more than 75 percent of the time, and it was significantly lower in three of four categories reviewed.
Rahman said both ratings systems have weaknesses and strengths.
“Many Americans are now familiar with how Yelp works and evaluate Yelp reviews with a critical eye. They know not to believe everything they read on the site,” Rahman said.
By contrast, consumers have reported difficulty with understanding Nursing Home Compare ratings, she added. This is problematic because prior research indicates that some nursing homes listed on the federal website are gaming their ratings.
“Regrettably, there is no easy or highly intuitive way to spot fake ratings on NHC [Nursing Home Compare],” Rahman said.
“However, we cannot say that Yelp is a better resource than Nursing Home Compare,” she added. “Our best recommendation is that consumers consult both resources, with the caveat that they must understand how each source generates its ratings.”