Do you check online doctor scores? 1 in 4 consumers do

Online ratings of physicians haven't caught on as much as ratings of books, movies and plumbers, but most clients know they exist and another in four checked them when picking a medical doctor in 2012, new research shows.

Just 5% have rated a doctor themselves online, according to an investigation letter published Tuesday in JAMA, a journal of the Ama.

The findings are based on a nationwide, agent survey of 2,137 U.S. adults taken in late 2012. It's likely that awareness and employ have grown since then, says lead author David Hanauer, a doctor at the University of Michigan. Despite concerns by many doctors that the ratings can be misleading and dangerous, they are here to stay, Hanauer says.

"We do have to accept that this is becoming a fact of life," he says. "The view of consumers is that they must be able to view and get away from ratings on almost anything they want online."

Sites which include physician ratings include those devoted entirely to medical information, such as Healthgrades and Vitals, and broader consumer sites ranging from Yelp Business Page and Angie's List to Client Reports. Some score doctors based on patient surveys, and some allow patients to post comments.