Association Between Online Reviews of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities and Drug-Induced Mortality Rates: Cross-Sectional Analysis

Drug-induced mortality across the United States has continued to rise. To date, there are limited measures to evaluate patient preferences and priorities regarding substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, and many patients do not have access to evidence-based treatment options. Patients and their families seeking SUD treatment may begin their search for an SUD treatment facility online, where they can find information about individual facilities, as well as a summary of patient-generated web-based reviews via popular platforms such as Google or Yelp. Web-based reviews of health care facilities may reflect information about factors associated with positive or negative patient satisfaction. The association between patient satisfaction with SUD treatment and drug-induced mortality is not well understood. The objective of this study was to examine the association between online review content of SUD treatment facilities and drug-induced state mortality. A cross-sectional analysis of online reviews and ratings of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)–designated SUD treatment facilities listed between September 2005 and October 2021 was conducted. The primary outcomes were (1) mean online rating of SUD treatment facilities from 1 star (worst) to 5 stars (best) and (2) average drug-induced mortality rates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER Database (2006-2019). Clusters of words with differential frequencies within reviews were identified. A 3-level linear model was used to estimate the association between online review ratings and drug-induced mortality. A total of 589 SAMHSA-designated facilities (n=9597 reviews) were included in this study. Drug-induced mortality was compared with the average. Approximately half (24/47, 51%) of states had below average (“low”) mortality rates (mean 13.40, SD 2.45 deaths per 100,000 people), and half (23/47, 49%) had above average (“high”) drug-induced mortality rates (mean 21.92, SD 3.69 deaths per 100,000 people). The top 5 themes associated with low drug-induced mortality included detoxification and addiction rehabilitation services (r=0.26), gratitude for recovery (r=–0.25), thankful for treatment (r=–0.32), caring staff and amazing experience (r=–0.23), and individualized recovery programs (r=–0.20). The top 5 themes associated with high mortality were care from doctors or providers (r=0.24), rude and insensitive care (r=0.23), medication and prescriptions (r=0.22), front desk and reception experience (r=0.22), and dissatisfaction with communication (r=0.21). In the multilevel linear model, a state with a 10 deaths per 100,000 people increase in mortality was associated with a 0.30 lower average Yelp rating (P=.005). Lower online ratings of SUD treatment facilities were associated with higher drug-induced mortality at the state level. Elements of patient experience may be associated with state-level mortality. Identified themes from online, organically derived patient content can inform efforts to improve high-quality and patient-centered SUD care.