Rate Your Doctor…or Not

July 21st, 2009

by Caitlin

In today’s Washington Post, Sandra Boodman evaluates whether online doctor rating systems, like RateMDs.com and Vitals.com, help or hurt the healthcare system. And more importantly, whether your doctor can prevent you from posting to one. Rating systems like TripAdvisor.com have become the go-to resource for booking your dream vacation, but physicians and advocacy groups argue that doctor rating systems don’t give people enough information on which to base their decision. Moreover, the information may not be completely accurate.

It used to be that to find a doctor, you would research the healthcare facilities in your area, talk to people you trust about their experiences, and interview the physician yourself to gauge whether the doctor would be a good fit for you. Sometimes this meant visiting a few doctors and getting a second or third opinion. But now, for some people rating systems might provide baseline information about a practice to help them get their research going.

While physicians argue about the validity of these rating sites, the real issue seems to be how do we select physicians today? And what role should physicians play in controlling that?

Entry Filed under: Physician Practice, Social Media