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Skip Doctor-Rating Websites

Physicians find sites mostly content-free, easily manipulated

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 28, 2008 5:15 PM CST

(Newser) – The Internet allows people to rate just about anything, so you’d think that rate-your-doctor websites would be a useful, possibly even live-saving resource, right? Not so, writes Kent Sepkowitz for Slate. A physician himself, Sepkowitz set out to find out what he could learn about himself and various colleagues. What did he find? "Zilch. The online doctor rating system has a shocking lack of useful information."

The sites are short on reviews—one notes it has 5,709 patient reviews for 137,832 listed doctors. Even pay sites were similarly threadbare. And when Sepkowitz finally found a single, negative review of himself on one site, he found he could simply praise himself five or six times under different aliases, which quickly raised him to the level of “suggested doctor.” As a physician, he recommends you "click elsewhere."

Rate-your-doctor websites are not the best place to get advice, one physician found.
Rate-your-doctor websites are not the best place to get advice, one physician found.   (Shutterstock)
Rate-your-doctor websites are not the best place to get advice, one physician found.
Rate-your-doctor websites are not the best place to get advice, one physician found.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
Guest
Nov 12, 2009 11:09 PM CST
I tried kooldocs.com and was not at all satisfied with the service I received
Guest
Sep 4, 2009 6:40 AM CDT
It is pretty obvious when a doc leaves some fake rating. It's probably something like this :"Greatest dr ever" lol vitals.com is one of the biggest culprits. The docs can actually edit what you can read and write. Anthony Leazzo,Plainfield Illinois. This guy is a poor excuse for a dr. HIe's got 2 chicks with no training giving shots.assisting in procedures.. ooops did i mention he shouldn't be doing procedures.. my bad. Yeah well this is the U.S and in this country people get to write their opinions and that includes that of SACRED Doctors. Ofcourse these docs don't like this. They want you rushing in to WORship them. lol I'll tel it like it is I know a doc who is an incompetent and needs to set his priorities straight not to mention licensure. peace
Shannonals
Dec 3, 2008 4:10 AM CST
So, Doctors are offended because clients are rating them?

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