Kiplinger’s calls Angie’s List, “a virtual backyard fence—with talk about the dry cleaner, the drywaller and everything in-between.” Now Angie’s List is soliciting members’ feedback on medical professionals so it can compile ratings in 55 categories, ranging from allergy/immunology to vascular surgery.
Not long ago, managed-care gatekeepers limited open discussion and selection of physicians. The move toward consumerism is changing all that.
Adding medical categories to Angie’s List revives and amplifies people’s ability to seek opinions from neighbors. To its credit, Angie’s List advises members that its ratings should be used only to gain perspective on healthcare decisions.
Patient-experience rating sites are proliferating rapidly and have quickly overtaken efforts to quantify and publish accurate outcomes data. Angie’s List has earned a rightful place among healthcare information resources, as long as people realize the best healthcare decisions are made when we balance our physicians’ advice with information on service experiences and outcomes.
Does a grading physician in tandem with tradesmen signal decreasing respect for the training, experience and skills of physicians? Or, as Kiplinger's suggests does it help improve healthcare by providing a mainstream forum where patients can share their experiences?
No matter how you feel about consumer-generated ratings, the discussion now includes doctors and healthcare. Red Lizard Creative can help you take part in the conversation with a positive and proactive approach.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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