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Background: Physician rating websites (PRWs) are gaining in popularity among patients seeking quality information about physicians. However, little knowledge is available about the quantity and type of information provided on the websites.

Objective: To determine and structure the quantity and type of information about physicians in the outpatient sector provided on German-language physician rating websites.

Methods: In a first step, we identified PRWs through a systematic internet search using German keywords from a patient＇s perspective in the two search engines Google and Yahoo. Afterwards, information about physicians available on the websites was collected and categorised according to Donabedian＇s structure/process/outcome model. Furthermore, we investigated whether the information was related to the physician himself/ herself or to the practice as a whole.

Results: In total, eight PRWs were …