How reliable are online patient reviews of doctors?

Generally poor: Consider how busy you are in life. Why take time to write a review? Because you had a bad experience with the dr or were told something you did not like to hear. If dr did great job, less likely to review, because that is "expected" care. So tend to reflect the upset few, rather than satisfied many.

Not reliable: At this early point in the development of online reviews of physicians it is unlikely that the reviews are representative. In general, very few patients write reviews and one cannot be sure that they are real "patients" rather than fakes. As the practice evolves, they may become more reliable. Right now, you can check with the appropriate medical board + state licensing board.

Unreliable: As a general rule, unreliable, and some information is woefully outdated. Some very good doctors that i know personally have bad reviews or no reviews at all. These sites are not reviewed for accuracy or completeness.