Popular websites such as Yelp and others that publish physician ratings and reviews are limited and don’t give users a full view on a doctor’s qualifications and track record in of treating patients, says a new study from ConsumerMedical, a healthcare decision support and concierge services company based in Pembroke, Mass.

ConsumerMedical says the vast majority of top-rated specialty physicians on Yelp.com, Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com aren’t the physicians that rank the highest based on actual performance data related to their medical specialty.

ConsumerMedical says it identified the top 10 ranked physicians across five common specialties such as cardiology and orthopedics in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles on Yelp.com, Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com.

ConsumerMedical says it next compared those doctors to a list of the 10 physicians with the highest quality scores by specialty in those cities. The second list was generated by ConsumerMedical using a database it says contains more than 5 billion data points that measure physician performance. The data includes patient readmission rates, surgical infection rates, and average length of stay, procedure volume and patient outcomes.

Only 2% of physicians who showed up as ranked among the top 10 on Yelp.com, Vitals.com and Healthgrades.com also showed up as top performers based on the ConsumerMedical database.

“Online patient reviews tend to reflect a patient’s care experiences, such as the physician’s bedside manner,” says ConsumerMedical CEO David Hines. “While these attributes are important they are simply not the main indicators of a physician’s overall quality, and sadly you can have a very kind orthopedic surgeon whose patients have hospital readmission.”

Patient reviews typically focus on attributes like a physician’s personality and availability, as well as other factors like the location of the office and punctuality in scheduling, says the ConsumerMedical report. Several also studies show that most consumers aren’t fully aware that physician varies significantly depending on specific skills, experience, and a variety of other factors, Hines says.

“Getting care from a high-quality physician can literally be a matter of life and death,” says Hines. “This absence of consumer-friendly tools that help the public understand that quality matters, and that offer them meaningful quality information so they can choose a high-quality physician, is very problematic.”

A growing number of Americans are using online patient review sites to find a physician. For example, a recent survey from physician practice management systems vendor Software Advice Inc. says that 62% of patients use online reviews as the first step to find a new doctor, while 19% use online reviews to validate their choice before making a first appointment.

“Healthcare consumers need more support to help them navigate the system and get the best care,” says Hines.

Healthgrades have yet to respond publicly about the ConsumerMedical report.

A spokeswoman for Yelp says the site publishes a diverse and useable range of healthcare content. “Yelp partners with ProPublica to surface government data like serious deficiencies and fines on the Yelp pages for thousands of hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis clinics across the country,” the spokeswoman says. “Our goal is to provide more information during the consumer’s decision making process in a place where it’s easier to find vs. government websites that are difficult to navigate and interpret.”