Zagat let's diners rate restaurants...but let's face it, there's a big difference between what physician you choose and what you want for dinner...the level of transparency for physicians even gets thinner...just one more place that, if you have the time, you can look up information about a physician. We all know these are not representative of all facets of a practice or MD and as the article states, patients having a bad experience will rule the roost here, as most folks who are happy don't usually take the time. Word of mouth still works too.
With all the new levels of transparency, perhaps the doctors will have a chance to "rate the patients"...someday...don't laugh as data base information continues to be gathered, analyzed, sold, etc., you could someday see your name in print as a "rated" patient from your MD, as the entire world seems to be encapsulated with surveys today...and again, it all depend on who you ask. State medical boards and better business bureaus still appear in my opinion to be a first stop if you are looking for documented and valid information. BD
One of the nation's largest health insurers, WellPoint, has teamed with Zagat Survey to let patients rate their doctors, just as diners rate restaurants in Zagat's burgundy-colored guides. Instead of Zagat's four categories for restaurants food, décor, service and cost the ratings guide will consider trust, communication, availability and office environment. In addition to giving doctors a numerical score based on a 30-point scale, the site will include comments from patients. The WellPoint program will be available online to more than a million members by the end of March. It plans to roll it out to all of its 35 million members but would not give a schedule. The move by the insurer comes as consumers increasingly turn to the Internet to learn about products and services and see customer reviews. Other insurers, including Aetna, survey patients about physicians in their networks, posting the results online for members. A few commercial websites, such as Revolution Health and RateMDs .com, offer the public an opportunity to rate doctors. But WellPoint is the largest insurer to partner with such a well-known survey firm as Zagat.
Disgruntled patients are more likely to submit a survey than happy ones, says physician Jim King, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Still, he's not too concerned. "In my small town, it's word-of-mouth," King says. "If someone uses this survey intelligently to make a short list of doctors to interview, that's OK. But they still need to depend on their own personal opinion."
Other insurers, including Aetna, survey patients about physicians in their networks, posting the results online for members. A few commercial websites, such as Revolution Health and RateMDs .com, offer the public an opportunity to rate doctors. But WellPoint is the largest insurer to partner with such a well-known survey firm as Zagat.
0 comments :
Post a Comment