RateMDs.com

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Daisey

Junior Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
RateMDs.com - Patients can rate their doctors. What do you think of this site?

Members don't see this ad.
 
RateMDs.com - Patients can rate their doctors. What do you think of this site?

Piss-o-crap IMO. Anyone could basically jump on that site and rate a doctor. When I say anyone, I mean ANYONE, including the doctor being rated. What prevents doctor X from rating him/herself as a "superstar" multiple times. Not to mention that doctor X's competition could also jump in and do the opposite.

Take this patient's comments for example:
http://www.ratemds.com/filecache/doctor-ratings.jsp?did=76302&country=0
"I had an awful experience, he did 4 fillings on my teeth that are not Dental Board quality. The contacts are off the bite was all wrong and he did not even take the time to contour and shape the fillings. His chairside manner was lacking. I had to go back later that day and have another Dentist try and fix his work."

I dont know if it just me, but this patients use of words like "Dental Board quality" and "chairside manner" sure does make me wonder if this is not the handwork of the dentist's competition down the street.
 
I know we're in a customer service industry and all that..blah, blah, blah...but we all know there's a huge difference between what patients want from their doctor and what they need from their doctor. That's the main reason why sites like that are crap.
 
I love how doctors are the profession most insecure about ratings systems. Deal with the times. You can rate your dentist, your lawyer, post about your experiences on the web, but god forbid if somebody dares to criticize the saintly physician.

But more importantly, sites like this dont' matter. The vast majority of people don't research their doctor on the net, they just show up and take the first availability. Remember, most patients are elderly and have low socioeconomic status. Not exactly the type that are savvy around the net.
 
It's called "word of mouth", and it's nothing new. Doesn't matter if it happens on the internet or among saturday morning gossip at the local hairdressers. Bottom line...don't be a prick to your patients, no matter how much they irritate you.
 
Pretty stupid I think. I agree that most patients don't know what they really need / what goes on behind the scenes. BTW, I did a quick search on a neurosurgeon that did a surgery on my mom, and he got pretty bad results, saying how they had to wait too long in MRI and they couldn't sleep after because of the pain. Boo hoo. My mom's surgery and post op went perfectly. This site means nothing.
 
Most people won't use it. They pick doctors by recommendations from a friend, insurance company mandate, or by getting whoever is on call for the ER.
 
Top