Reviews of Physicians on the Web- of Limited Use

Source: NY Times

The world wide web is meant to limit information asymmetry. There are reviews on nearly everything, especially consumer goods. Reviews on physician performance appear not to be so robust or helpful. Here is an informative article in the New York Times.


In my opinion, it is important for the healthcare system to have feedback. If this data is to be publicly reported, however, then some measures to ensure validity must be present. First, a few comments or responses from anonymous patients will clearly not represent a physicians practice and are thus potentially misleading. More importantly, patient reviews of their doctor are not coupled with patient outcomes in his/her practice. This a vital piece of missing information that is not likely to be available anytime soon. As a result, web-based reviews of physicians are of minimal value and utility in their current state.


This reinforces a personal belief of mine: healthcare is not a simple commodity. People do not 'consume' healthcare as they would a television or automobile.