Nov. 28--The opening of a doctor-rating Web site isn't meant to be a modern-day response to the biblical proverb of "physician, heal thyself."
But Dr. Steve Feldman says he believes that DrScore.com can play a role in helping physicians get a better, perhaps more honest, assessment of their services from patients and their caregivers.
Feldman is a professor of pathology and dermatology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Dr.Score is not connected to Baptist, although the group did graduate from the Babcock Demon Incubator.
Analysts said that some physicians are not comfortable with being evaluated publicly like other professional service providers. Feldman acknowledges he has gotten some quizzical responses to the Web site.
"Negative feedback is a real gift because it helps doctors do what they ultimately want to do most, which is please their patients and give them great medical care," Feldman said.
"But positive feedback is important, too, because it validates what doctors are doing right."
The Web site offers an anonymous survey for rating physicians in four main categories -- examination, timeliness, treatment and staff. The categories are combined to provide an overall rating.
There have been more than 60,100 ratings posted. Although the Web site started with a national list of doctors that Feldman bought, consumers can add a physician. There are more than 250 local physicians listed.
"The detailed reports allow doctors to drill down into the data to determine ways to improve their patient care," Feldman said. "This feedback includes everything from their experience in the lobby to final treatment."
Competition includes Angie's List, Zagat, Health Grades and Revolution Health. The federal government could provide its own Web site for physician rankings as early as next year.
The use, and the reputation, of doctor-rating Web sites have been mixed, according to analysts and consumers. The Web sites can serve as one piece of the overall referral puzzle, they said.
But some are concerned that online ratings systems could compel some physicians to provide services potentially detrimental to their patients to avoid a bad rating.
"I don't think providing the public information about hospitals and physicians is harmful, as long as the information is accurate and reported in the proper context," said Don Dalton, a spokesman for the N.C. Hospital Association.
Steve Graybill, a senior health-care analyst for Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Charlotte, said that "it is challenging to get a credible database which covers a comprehensive market of providers."
Most of the physicians listed on Dr.Score.com have received solid ratings. Feldman said that the median patient-satisfaction score of doctors with 20 or more ratings is 9.3 out of a possible 10. The majority of the physicians listed have five or fewer ratings.
Because Feldman has encouraged his patients to use the Web site to evaluate his services, he has received more than 380 ratings. His overall rating is 9.0.
Gary Morgan, a physician at Friedberg Family Practice of Winston-Salem, said he is not sold on physician-rating Web sites even though he scored a perfect "10" from the seven survey takers.
"I didn't know the Web site existed until a few weeks ago when a new patient told me she used it as a referral before coming in," Morgan said. "It is an interesting concept since there are patient-satisfaction scores for hospitals."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, which includes patient-satisfaction scores for nearly 4,000 hospitals nationwide, including 20 in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. The N.C. Quality Center offers a similar, easier-to-use Web site for quality-of-care scores at www.nchospitalquality.org.
"I still believe there is more value in word-of-mouth referrals, especially for those who have moved into a new area," Morgan said.
There is a monetary goal for the Web site, Feldman said. He hopes that other physicians will use it as their preferred patient-satisfaction survey at a cost of $150 a year.
Feldman said that the Web site has safeguards to thwart ballot-stuffing or aggressively negative postings. Consumers are asked not to review a physician more than once a quarter.
"It's possible for a really smart and mean-spirited person to get around our safeguards, but it would take effort," Feldman said. "I don't think it has happened yet. If it did, we would institute a certified rating system where people log in."
Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
What to look for
Here are tips for consumers evaluating online physician-rating Web sites.
Decide what you care about, a long-term patient-physician relationship or a short-term specialist.
Measure the volume of comments and respondents on the Web site and individual physicians.
Look for specifics, not adjectives, in comments about how a physician does his or her job.
Observe for patterns in comments regarding praises and complaints.
Recognize that most comments will come from complimentary or dissatisfied patients or caregivers.
Source: CNN.com
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