LAUSR

ABSTRACT Physician review websites have become more relevant and important in people’s selection of physicians. The current study experimentally examined how online physician reviews endorsing a primary care physician’s (PCP’s) technical or interpersonal skills, along with a physician’s gender, may influence people’s perceptions of the physician’s skills and their willingness to choose the physician. Participants were randomly assigned to view a mockup physician review web page and to imagine that they needed to find a new PCP in a new city. They were then asked to report their perceptions of the physician and willingness to choose the physician as their PCP. The results suggested that people’s willingness to choose a PCP was affected by physician reviews through their influence on people’s perceptions of the PCP’s technical and interpersonal skills. More importantly, this study found that when physician reviews endorsed a PCP’s technical skills people perceived a female PCP to be more interpersonally competent than a male PCP and thus were more likely to choose the female PCP. The gendered perception, however, was not extended to a PCP’s technical skills. Practical implications for health providers and consumers are discussed.