A survey released Dec. 4 by the Center for Studying Health System Change had findings similar to those of a Harris Interactive Poll released in June: A vast majority of Americans prefer word of mouth when choosing a new doctor or hospital, despite a drive to post doctor cost and quality information online.

The survey found 10.8% of patients look to online ratings sites to find a primary care physician, while 50.3% rely on friends or relatives, 38.1% on doctors or other health care personnel, and 34.7% on health plans.

For specialists, 6.8% of patients use online ratings sites, 68.5% seek referrals from their primary care physician, 19.9% rely on friends, 18% on another doctor and 10.5% on health plans. The Harris poll found 22% of patients looked at physician rating sites in 2007, and only 2% changed doctors as a result of what they found on a ratings site.

"The reality is most people have long relied on word of mouth to choose their physicians, and that is still the case," center spokeswoman Alwyn Cassil said.

Maribeth Shannon, director of the marketing and policy program for the California HealthCare Foundation, a proponent of online physician ratings sites, said information revealed by the center showed one possible reason why so few patients are investigating doctors online -- only a minority were in the market for a new doctor.

The center's Health Tracking Household Survey found that only 11% of patients looked for a new primary physician in 2007, 28% needed a new specialist and 16% underwent a medical procedure at a new facility. The national survey contained information on 13,500 adults and had a 43% response rate.

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