Pandemic's Lingering Effect on Healthcare Reviews: Analyzing the Shift from Positive to Negative Feedback

An analysis led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania highlights a significant shift in online reviews of healthcare facilities post-COVID. **Yelp reviews of hospitals, urgent care centers, and doctors' offices have seen an increase in negativity, with positive reviews dropping from 54.3% pre-pandemic to 47.9% thereafter.** The research utilized language processing to identify major themes, revealing that concerns about 'insurance and billing issues' and 'customer service and staff behavior' have become more prevalent. The study underscores that different populations experience and review healthcare differently, with rural areas and neighborhoods with larger Black or Hispanic populations noting more issues. Urban areas and those with higher white populations reported problems with wait times more frequently. Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, the study aims to offer insights to tailor healthcare services better to diverse community needs.