Physician Information

As stated in our text, information technology has made it possible to assemble and adjust performance data so that service entities can be compared on a wide variety of parameters of importance to consumers.

After viewing the website www.healthgrades.com, I would say that physician report cards are fair and balance at some point but at the same time unfair and unbalanced. I tested out the website to see what information was available by randomly searching a particular hospital and then randomly choosing a doctor. The rating given by the patients seemed to be very few. The particular one I viewed had only six patient ratings and yes they were all good. This hospital is a much known hospital so I would expect more. To make a medical decision based off 6 good ratings to me would not be smart. There are probably instances where people use this site to give their complaints or state how unhappy and unsatisfied they were. The net is the perfect place to express this to try to down and make the doctor look bad to other viewers.

Things to consider:

1. Advancements in medical treatments are frequent. Report Cards may use older information on treatments that do not accurately reflect the way your care is currently being provided. Is it important to make sure clinical information is no older than two years.

2. Many Report Cards rely upon information drawn from billing invoices sent by physicians' offices to health insurers. That information may give an incomplete picture of your care. Your medical record, either in paper or electronic form, provides the most accurate record of your care. If you have questions, be sure to discuss your individual medical record with your physician.

3. Report Cards may not list all physicians providing care in your area, resulting in an incomplete comparison. For example, some Report Cards may miss physicians in solo practices or smaller groups of physicians. Other physicians may not be listed because no data were available to assess...