Doctor.com (Ratings Site)
Don't waste your time!
This site is a perfect example of one set up to make money, but not help patients. It is riddled with advertising, and doctors pay a fee to add their own information.
The doctors I reviewed had almost no information, except that it states they are all taking new patients (they aren't) and magically, their insurance acceptances are listed, even when credentials aren't. That means this site is getting its input from insurance companies or the Medical Information Bureau, and not from the state licensing listings or any other bona fide source.
You can't get any useful information from this site. Go elsewhere.
Informed Patient Institute
The Informed Patient Institute rates the ratings sites so you can learn more about those you may be interested in.
Even better, you can choose whether to look at ratings of ratings sites for physicians or nursing homes, and you can determine which of those sites works best in your state.
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Sites Not Reviewed
There are a number of existing sites that I did not review:- Health Grades is a very well-known site which asks patients to pay for reports on their doctors. I did not spend the money to review the site.
- Angie's List is well-known for its reviews of many kinds of services. It also requires a paid membership. I did not spend the money for the paid membership.
- Several sites have databases that are way too small to be included in this review:
- www.doctorsecondopinion.com
- www.wheretofindcare.com
- www.gradeyourdoctor.com
If you are curious about how these types of websites are viewed by the professionals who study healthcare policy and online applications, you may want to read this opinion from The Healthcare Blog.
Do You Know of Another Physician Directory or Ratings Site Not Listed Here?
If you know of a site not listed, or if you would like to supply additional information about one of the listed sites, please link below and send us your input. Submissions with complete reviews (good or bad) will be added to this article.
