I know Yelp has doctor listings, but I wonder if there isn’t an opportunity to build one specifically around healthcare. Seems that more transparency would really help the system. One of the questions we got asked is if we knew what hospital was good for what and, as someone who has only been in the hospital twice (once for a fishhook in the ear and once for a broken wrist), I don’t.
Anyway, I’m sure there are sites out there that attempt this. Are any of them good? What are they? Could GE do something in this space?
Noah: Zagat (the restaurant survey people) recently launched a doctor review site– it’s not rolled out nationally yet, and it seems to only be available through specific insurance companies, but I thought it was an interesting line extension for them.
Doctors are less than thrilled about being rated, since they feel the public isn’t a good judge of medical competence, but Zagat is saying the ratings will be about things patients do have valid opinions on: bedside manner, vibe they get from the office, ease of getting an appointment etc.
Here’s a link to a NY Times article on it from February 09: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/business/media/16zagat.html?_r=1
Angie’s List is the closest thing I know of: http://www.angieslist.com/ — they advertise on NPR *all the time*.
Yes, there are! In fact, there is a site that provides exactly what you are talking about: http://www.carepilot.com/ [it's a local search for healthcare providers]. And also these 2: http://www.mydochub.com/ and FindYourDoc http://tinyurl.com/dkqpch. Aggregators like Revolution Health and WebMD also provide this functionality….
[i somehow managed to dig this out, was working for a while on some similar project... it must have rubbed off]
Rock on, thanks guys. Will check them out.
One of the biggest plays is coming from Zagat’s (yes, that Zagat’s – the restaurant people.
They’ve been getting some serious push back from doctors, who don’t like the idea of laypeople judging them on their medical knowledge. Zagat’s claims that won’t be the case, that patients will be commenting on the intangibles: bedside manner, office decor, ease of getting an appointment, etc.
They’ve been rolling it out slowly, mostly in California, through Blue Cross and other health insurance companies (you have to be a member of the health plan to have access, I believe.)
Here;s a link to a recent NY Times story on the play: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/business/media/16zagat.html?_r=1
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