What Consumers Say About Hospices in Online Reviews

Background: Until recently, consumers have had limited resources to assess quality of hospices agencies, contributing to growing numbers of consumers turning to online review sites, such as Yelp. However, little is known about the content of hospice Yelp reviews and how these relate to recently available Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Hospice Compare (HC) site data. Objective: To better understand what consumers report on Yelp about hospice care and explore how these areas relate to HC data. Design: We examined 692 consumer Yelp reviews of 67 hospices in California and compared identified themes with quality measures presented on the HC site. Setting/Subjects: We used a purposive sample of California Hospice's with Yelp reviews. Measurements: Qualitative consumer comments about their experience with hospice care were analyzed by using a grounded theory approach. Results: We found that overall Yelp comments were positive, however Yelp themes were more extensive and diverse than those on HC. Conclusion: We recommend that consumers consider both HC and online review sites such as Yelp when evaluating a hospice.