Patient Issues
Online Physician Ratings: Proceed with Caution
By
Jun 15, 2008 - 8:58:23 AM

Leading Physician Certification Organization Offers Consumers Tips for Using Doctor Rating Sites


(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Evanston, Ill. – June 11, 2008 – Online physician ratings allow patients to publicly and anonymously critique their doctors, providing one of the newest tools available to consumers seeking information to help them select a doctor. But can these online physician ratings be trusted? Experts from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) say that online ratings can be one useful tool, but caution consumers against relying solely on anonymous ratings.

“Online physician ratings can be helpful, but they don’t provide a complete picture of a physician’s qualifications and, because they reflect a patient’s personal experience, they’re likely to have a bias,” said ABMS president and CEO Kevin Weiss, MD. “Consumers who use online rating systems and other Internet sources for healthcare information should always check to see where the information comes from and how often it is updated. The more consumers know about the source, the better they can assess the information’s value and reliability alongside information from other sources.”

For 75 years, ABMS, which oversees 24 Member Boards that certify physicians in more than 145 specialties and subspecialties, has been a reliable and trusted resource for consumers seeking information on physician qualifications.

“Many Web sites that allow consumers to search by medical specialty or by a specific health condition don’t always have the most current information about board certification,” Dr. Weiss said. To access the most up-to-date information on certification status, consumers should

check www.abms.org to see if their doctors are board certified by one of the 24 ABMS Member

Boards. ABMS Member Board certification is widely recognized in healthcare as the gold standard for judging a physician’s knowledge, experience and skills within a medical specialty.

In addition, ABMS offers the following tips to help consumers assess and make the best use of online ratings resources:

· Confirm the information. Many Web sites include self-reported physician information. A doctor may list a specialty but that doesn’t guarantee that he/she is board certified in that particular area of medicine. Check with ABMS to verify specialty certification.

· Search for online physician ratings that permit a “360 degree evaluation,” which allows consumers to read comments on an individual physician from a variety of sources, including other doctors, nurses and patients.

· Be aware that many online physician ratings do not consistently moderate content or review comments prior to posting. This means individuals can post negative or glowing comments about a doctor they’ve never even seen.

· When choosing a doctor, consider several sources of information rather than relying solely on a doctor rating Web site.

· For a small fee, consumers can also check for disciplinary actions against individual physicians through the Federation of State Medical Boards at www.fsmb.org.

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