Online medical ratings are a good practice that ultimately provide a level of quality assurance for the patient. Good doctors will get positive reports and further credibility, while it weeds out the lesser doctors. Doctors are likely to work to improve themselves in response. Doctors are businesses, too. They have to market themselves, and nobody wants a bad reputation.

Online ratings are good tools that allow you to increase your chances of a successful outcome. They may help identify the doctor that best matches your need, and you can learn useful information about how the office works and whether they’ll fit what you’re looking for.

People will need to understand how to interpret the information found in these ratings. When they read posts, they’re going to have to keep the subjectivity in the back of their minds. An objective statement is one thing. If someone says, “My doctor cut off the wrong leg,” that is a statement of fact. But most of what you read will be subjective opinions that can neither be proven nor disproven. This does not make them any less valuable, but you will have to read between the lines.

Every story has two sides. Some patients are just unrealistic and get agitated with doctors who don’t prescribe the medications they want or tell them things they do not want to hear.

Sites such as Angie’s List have an advantage because they are made up of proactive people. If I have paid to be part of your service, I am going to actively be using it. There is a group mentality in which people feel like they need to contribute both the good and bad, which is going to lead to a wider range of ratings.

It all goes back to doctors being consummate professionals. Why would they change anything if they’ve been doing it right all along?

Kevin Flynn is president of HealthCare Advocates, a nationwide advocacy organization working to improve the experience that patients have with health care.

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