---
title: Yelp? Boast? Cry Out?
description: Yelp? Boast? Cry Out?
---

<https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources>

# [Yelp? Boast? Cry Out?](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2016/04/yelp-boast-cry-out.html)

 Written by [Nicole Kenny](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/author/nicole-kenny) | Apr 15, 2016 5:12:00 PM

<http://static1.squarespace.com/static/595689fc9de4bbc892200518/t/59568ac85fd63b5f2928763f/1498845348872//img.png.com/static/595689fc9de4bbc892200518/t/59568ac85fd63b5f29287640/1498843848729/1000w/>

There’s a bit of an on-going joke in my office – one that  
 I’m the brunt of.   It’s well known that  
 my love of alliteration and all things *Thesaurus  
* means I like to know the definition and meaning of words.   There’s a particular person at work who *loves * to throw in the occasional not-so–run-of-the-mill  
 word knowing darn well I’ll be hitting [Dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com/)   
 to verify the meaning.   This on-going  
 joke is so well known that other members of the company will provide the  
 definition for me if they feel I have not responded quickly enough.   The phrase “who needs enemies” comes to  
 mind…..

Knowing my penchant for learning new words (or ensuring I  
 know what the word means), it was with some surprise that I learned a new  
 meaning for “[yelp](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/yelp)”.   My rudimentary belief was that it meant “to  
 cry out” or “to call out sharply” and we often use it in reference to pain such  
 as “The dog yelped when its owner stepped on its foot”.  Tonight I found out that Yelp dates back to  
 Old and Middle English where it meant “to boast”.   Why, you may be wondering, would I look this  
 up?  Well, like many people, when  
 travelling I use the website [Yelp.com](http://www.yelp.com/toronto)  
 to find highly rated local restaurants and other establishments because of the  
 comments made by people like me.  You  
 know the ones that “boast” about how great the food or service was? I was  
 curious….

I was particularly curious after reading an article in the  
 Washington Post “[What  
 Yelp can tell you about a hospital that official ratings can’t](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/04/05/going-to-the-hospital-read-the-yelp-reviews-first/)” – I mean  
 who goes to Yel<https://www.blogger.com/null>p to determine what hospital to go  
 to?  Apparently now we should all  
 consider it!   [Researchers  
 from the University of Pennsylvania](http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/35/4/697.abstract) looked at 17,000 Yelp reviews  
 from consumers and found that the information left by consumers provided a far  
 broader overview of the hospitals then the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment  
 of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey) scores that are considered the  
 industry standard for evaluating communication and responsiveness of healthcare  
 providers, the cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment, and pain  
 management.

The study found that while the information included on Yelp  
 only covered about 60% of the content HCAHPS scores cover. It was also found  
 that Yelp covered 12 different areas not included in the HCAHPS analysis such  
 as the cost of the visit, insurance and billing, ancillary testing, facilities,  
 amenities, scheduling, compassion of staff, family member care, quality of  
 nursing, quality of staff, quality of technical aspects of care, and specific  
 type of medical care.  The Yelp reviews  
 focused more on the soft skills or interpersonal relationships such as how  
 caring or comforting the healthcare workers were.

The testimonials on social media sites are organic and often  
 reveal exactly what the problem or positive occurrence was that affected the  
 patient’s or family member’s experience.   
 For a CEO looking to make improvements on the perception of their  
 facility, online consumer review platforms such as Yelp may be the place to  
 turn to in order to supplement information provided by HCAHPS.   I’m quick to Tweet about positive and  
 negative experiences I’ve had with various service establishments, and so now I  
 guess I’ll have to remember to use Yelp as another platform to share my  
 thoughts and comments on!

*Bugging Off!*

**

Nicole

[View full post](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2016/04/yelp-boast-cry-out.html)

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