Provider ranking sites are in the news again (click here, here and here) with the usual debate about whether physicians can be rated like restaurants by Zagat or handymen on Angie's List. Both sites now rate health professionals. On the pro side of the debate is that the ranking of products and services is a fundamental concept of consumerism. Consumers are being asked to be more financially accountable in their healthcare decision making and are thus seeking more online decision support tools to make more informed decisions, such as physician rankings. The discerning consumer will be able to distinguish between crackpot and legitimate reviews. On the con side of the debate is that one such crackpot review can irreparably damage a physician's reputation. Medical services are not like restaurants or books and lay consumers are not equipped to evaluate physicians medical expertise.
Forty plus sites offer rating systems for physicians and hospitals. Representative examples include: AngiesList.com; HealthGrades.com; RateMDs.com; Vimo.com and Qualitycheck.org (a site run by The Joint Commission). State medical societies also provide consumers information about physicians' malpractice and disciplinary action history. In addition to rating things like bedside manner, ability to make a timely appointment, staff courtesy, some sites also allow patients to provide their own commentary about their experience with the physician or hospital, much like a book or restaurant review. This comment feature is perhaps the most controversial.
In addition to offering provider cost and quality ratings based on claims data (a controversial practice unto itself), health plan sites are now adding consumer rating features to their member Web sites. Examples, include: thehealthcarescoop.com launched by Blue Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Minnesota; RegenceBlueShield and WellPoint's partnership with Zagat. Health Industry Insights expects that more health plans will add rating features to their Web sites. A recent study we just completed regarding payer Health 2.0 initiatives indicates that ranking is the top user-generated content feature that payers plan to incorporate into their member Web sites in 2009 and 2010. I'll be presenting the results of this study at IDC Directions 2009, March 17 and publishing a series of reports on the findings if you would like to learn more about payers' plans for Health 2.0.
What do you think of physician ranking sites? Good idea? Bad Idea? Caveat Emptor?
Article by Lynne Dunbrack for 