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Worthwhile or Worthless?
By Staff Writers
All medical professionals are aware of the power of the internet and the rise of anonymous MD rating sites. These include RateMDs.com, WLPT-Zagat, Vimo, Careseek, Drscore and a host of others. But, however cool and empowering they may seem; their value is still questioned.
Assessment
And so, we would like to get your input (along with other readers, subscribers and experts) on the value of these social sites for patients and consumers, as well as the possible risks and benefits for MDs.
Conclusion
Your thoughts and comments are appreciated; real life stories and anecdotes are encouraged.
Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm
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Filed under: Career Development, Practice Management, Surveys and Voting | Tagged: doctor rating sites |
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 
Hello,
I am thrilled that you made this post as I have a story that can be repeated thousands of times. First, these doctor rating services are invaluable. I went to WebMD’s forums to share my story and received many replies asking to which doctor I was referring because they wanted to steer clear of them.
My story:
A month ago I went to a “Pain Management” doctor because of two herniated discs in my neck and spinal stenosis.
After paying $200 cash (I have no health insurance) for a “consultation” the doctor comes into the room, has me push my arms around a bit and tells me that I need surgery. Then she leaves the room without saying another word. She never came back, never said “good luck” or “nice to meet you.” Nothing.
We paid $200 for a “consultation” with her and we saw her for three minutes. This doctor:
* Said I need surgery, but when asked to recommend a surgeon, she could not because she didn’t know any (I did not believe her. I feel she didn’t recommend anyone because I don’t have insurance.)
* Fails to explain what a herniated disc is.
* Fails to discuss my options.
* Fails to even ask me a single question.
* Never even looked at my MRI. I know because they were in my possession the whole time.
This “pain management doctor” sent me back to my WALK IN CLINIC for pain management for two herniated disks and spinal stenosis. She said they can’t prescribe pain meds because I saw a different doctor “two weeks ago” for the pain. Big huge surprise – I’m in excruciating pain.
I shared this story on WebMD and offered to release the name of the doctor; and I had many people write to me. I enthusiastically shared her name. I went to every doctor rating service I could find and shared my story.
Thank you SO MUCH for offering to hear her story. Anyone can write to me at naturalone@ymail.com and I will release her name to them as well.
LadyArtist
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Patients do look to others for personal recommendations and reviews of doctors, and by posting them online, their opinions can be shared globally.
LadyArtist has given us insight on her doctor based on her real personal experience, which may save others from an equally unsatisfying visit. Ideally such comments would provide important customer feedback and help doctors in question to use this information to improve their own practices. It also would be helpful to hear back from the reviewed doctor … I’m sure LadyArtist would be happy to know that her feedback was constructive and being heeded.
-Gale
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I know that many doctor rating sites irritate doctors, but I see them as a good thing – and think that doctors should even encourage their patients to go online and rate them.
The reason for this is that most doctors are good at what they do, and liked by their patients. However, most people won’t think of recommending their doctor unless they’re asked for it (standard word of mouth principle). If my doctor asked, I would happily go online to fill out a positive review.
It would be even better if the doctor’s office itself sent out a survey to patients after their appointments asking them to rate their experience, or even offered a rating function on their own site. Then they could verify that someone was a patient – while still giving the patient the opportunity to be heard. (Which reduces lawsuits, I’ve read.)
Also, the main complaints that irk patients are frequently things doctors could easily change: less waiting time, being nicer, etc. I think doctors should view that as an opportunity to see how they can improve their service to their patients.
If doctor rating sites could give doctors a chance to respond and show improvements (e.g. “Hi, this is Dr X. I noticed on here that patients are upset about the long waiting times. Here are the steps we are taking to address that”); and that would be even better.
Many companies have found that having a rating function on their website or encouraging ratings has made their customers view them more positively. I think doctors could benefit from this, as most are not bad doctors. The more ratings they get; the better.
-Katie
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Hello,
I found & used a site called mdnationwide.org to research a specific doctor. Though they did charge a fee, I found it had more detailed information than any other site, including those free sites who have doctor’s credential information.
Hopefully this helps.
Good Luck!
Jaris
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Gale, Lady and Jaris
‘Top Docs’ Ads – The Legal Battle
According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, on February 18, 2009, both Virtua Health and Cooper Health System are claiming victories following a Superior Court hearing on the ongoing legal battle over Virtua’s “top docs” marketing campaign. Last week, the court issued an injunction temporarily barring Virtua; of Cherry Hill, NJ from using advertisements claiming it has the most “top docs” in South Jersey.
Judge Mary E. Colalillo modified the order to permit Virtua to continue the advertisements, but held in place a restriction that prohibits Virtua from making any reference to an independent study.
Virtua said its methodology to support Virtua’s advertising was to take the names of “top docs” from four publications – Philadelphia Magazine, SJ Magazine, South Jersey Magazine and New Jersey Monthly – and compare them to the medical staff lists posted on the Web sites of South Jersey hospitals. If a doctor was on the medical staff of more than one hospital, each hospital was given credit for that “top doc.” Using that methodology, Virtua had 220 top docs and Cooper had 143 in 2008.
Financial Industry Meltdown
Is there a cautious parallel here for the financial services industry and its’ plethora of “Awards”, “Who’s – Who” lists, “Best-Of” manifestos, and other marketing contrivances and promotional drivel that seems to promote nothing more than mediocrity; at best? It is time for fiduciary accountability for all.
Full disclosure: I am the Founder of http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com and a reformed insurance agent, investment advisor, Certified Physician in Healthcare Quality and Certified Financial Planner ™
Dr. David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CMP™
[Publisher-in-Chief]
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Physician Compare
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] just launched an enhanced version of its Physician Compare online tool which provides detailed information about physicians and other healthcare workers.
http://www.medicare.gov/find-a-doctor/%28X%281%29S%28fntmsr45xwgkbefp2nkdrx45%29%29/provider-search.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Jackie
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