Here's a thought provoking post from Kevin MD's blog, written by Dr. Martin Young, entitled Isn't it time for a patient rating system for doctors?
Dr. Young suggests that he understands why he is judged by his patients through doctor ratings sites, but that sometimes its unfair, and sometimes patients behave unfairly toward him. He admits that he makes mistakes on occasion (all human beings do) but he feels as if some of his patients judge him and disdain him long past the amount of time they should. He thinks they should get over it. The ones that don't, he labels as "bad patients."
And the comments to his post ensued! They were made by doctors and patients alike. Some were respectful, some were not. Some are well thought through and make good points, but some shot from the hip without regard to good reasoning or reality.
I should note here, that Dr. Martin lives and practices medicine in South Africa. Yet what a nerve he seems to have struck across the globe!
I have a few comments - removed a distance from the conversation and hopefully a bit more objective and less emotional:
1. Doctors judge patients, and record those judgements, every day. We know there are codes in our records describing who we are and how we behave. We know conversations take place at the nurses' station in the hospital. We know patients are blackballed and dismissed every day. Doctors don't need a rating system for their patients. They are already rating us.
2. Sometimes patients deserve to be dismissed! There are any number of behaviors that drive doctors crazy, but beyond that, there are behaviors that mean that doctor and that patient should not be working together under any circumstance.
3. Dr. Martin claims he has patients who continue to hold a grudge. They continue to see him and continue to voice their disdain. Well, maybe the South African system is different from ours in the US, but if any patient told me that's how she felt about her doctor, I would tell her to find a new one fast. And if any doctor told me he was having that problem with a patient, I'd suggest it was fair for him to dismiss that patient.
Regular readers know that I am not a fan of doctor ratings sites. Well, I'm not a fan of the idea of rating patients either. It would be a little like Match.com allowing dates to rate each other. Way too subjective!
The right doctor-patient relationship is like a good marriage, or a good partnership. And - as Gramma used to say - there's a lid for every pot. There are better ways for patients to figure out which doctors they want to see. And sometimes there are reasons to dismiss those patients who doctors don't want to treat any more.
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Agree? Disagree?
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When Physician rating sites first came out I thought what an interesting idea. Well, as time has gone by not only from the patient perspective but now as being on the other side of the fence now as a Medical Assistant and wanting to be a Nurse I now have a different opinion. Last week I went to one of the more recognized sites on the web to check to see if one of my doctors that wasn’t listed before was there yet. And yep, his name had been added to the list. I read the comments given by two people that saw him, and both reviews were not good. That irritated me to no end to see both those comments, however, I had to remember that not every person is going to have the same opinion about a doctor. Just because I like this doctor does not mean someone else will and vice versa. I also agree about not having a public rating system for patients because as you said they already rate us on a daily basis by what they write in the medical record. Good article.
Where I live in Canada doctors are so rare on the ground that patients have to put up with incredibly bad services. Sites rating doctors are of not much use to us since we simply don’t have any choice about whom we see.
This scarcity permits medical professionals to label about anyone as “difficult” or worse, and they don’t need any forum to make this public!
I’m not sure where in Canada Regina lives, but I have not had that problem. I have a rare disease that requires a team of doctors and was in the unfortunate situation of having had a rheumatologist (my quarterback for treatment) who was not into playing the game. I had to change doctors in order to stay alive and it was not a problem. I now have the most amazing doctor quarterbacking, we are truly a team and I’m well on my way to remission. If you take the time and you care about your well being finding a doctor who can lead you to health in times of need is absolutely doable in Canada. I have heard horror stories from friends in the States who have the same condition as me – it is there that people are directed by insurance companies which doctors they can see or cannot see. I feel very lucky to be living in Canada while I have to deal with this goofy, life threatening disease – which is for the rest of my life.