Doctors try to duck ratings

Aug/22/2007 05:46 Filed in: HCP Marketing
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Social media and other websites have allowed consumers to Amazon.com their physicians; that is they can rate their physicians. But some doctors are trying to fight back according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal. Some doctors actually have the nerve to ask patients to sign a form that would prohibit patients from rating physicians on websites or in social media. A quote from the movie "Cool Hand Luke" comes to mind "what we have here is failure to communicate".



Think about it for a moment...physicians want to STOP patients from rating them? How ridiculous is this concept today. The only difference between God and a physician is that God doesn't think he's a physician. Patients should have the right to evaluate their physicians and patients should NOT sign a disclaimer saying that they won't rate their doctor.


When was the last time patients actually could sit down with a doctor and discuss their overall health and treatment options? When was the last time patients were treated with respect and partners in their healthcare decisions? Truth is it doesn't happen as much as it should. Physicians are trained to treat the condition not the patient and people are growing tired of this. They want to know options and what they can do to better control their health.


In the physicians defense they have to see as many patients as possible during the day to make their practice profitable. They probably don't have a lot of time to spend with patients. Still if physicians are rude and don't listen patients have a right to express their opinions about their interaction with their doctor to others.


The strength of the Web is that brings people together to talk about your brand and your product, you can't stop that from happening. A physician should not be worried about a negative review from a disgruntled patient because other patients will either confirm the review or say that they had a better experience. Choosing a doctor is the most important choice we can make; a good physician can help us be proactive in our health while a marginal physician just wants to write the Rx and go to the next treatment room.

We should all have the right to review what we pay for and maybe physicians will understand that patients are getting smarter and more informed about their healthcare choices including doctors.

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