Rating your doctor

There was a story in today's paper about how the latest thing to do is to rate your doctor. This intrigues me as some doctors I am more comfortable with others. I don't think it is possible for a patient to rate the doctor's actual abilities and training as most of us are not trained professionals and it is really something that is only apparent over time. However I am all in favor of rating things like the doctor's bedside manner, amount of time they make you wait once you are there (more on this later), ease of getting an appointment, if you feel 'listened to' by the doctor, and other subjective areas.

Since I see so many doctor's I figured that at least some of them would be listed. I checked the two websites listed - Angie's List and RateMD.com. Of all the doctors I have, only one is listed, and she has only one rating which is all positive. Well it actually just says positive and didn't leave any comments. So how helpful is this? Should I now feel that my doctors are all so obscure and have so few patients that no one has rated them yet? Or is this just something that is reflective of Web 2.0 that hasn't really spread yet? Will it even take off? (Web 2.0 is the interactive side of the internet that has come up in recent years - blogs, Digg, Twitter, LinkedIn, Face Book, etc.) Who knows?

Will I rate my doctors? I am not sure I am qualified. I mean I like them and feel comfortable that I am getting good care but just because I am happy doesn't mean that someone else would be. Choosing a doctor is like dating (I hate that analogy but its true). You have to keep trying different ones until you find one you can communicate with and makes you feel better. If you don't like how a doctor treats you, I definitely think you should find another.

Now on doctor's making you wait. I think as patients we need to admit we are part of the problem. I have been to see doctors just a 'few' times in the past year. The appointment reminders ask you to be there 10-15 minutes early. This is so that the doctor can actually see you at the time you are scheduled. Most of the time, when people check in, they are there relatively on time.

But then there are the people that show up half an hour after their appointment and expect to be seen right away. Or the ones who didn't know when their appointment was supposed to be. Or the ones who don't listen to the instructions - don't eat before this procedure or we can't do it. Hello? Did the world start revolving around you recently? You couldn't get your butt out the door to be there on time? Pay attention! You are making the doctor run late.

I know there is also the case where you are having a problem and the doctor actually spends some extra time with you. You feel better but then this may make them run late. I think we are too quick to say that doctors are at fault for running late. Maybe they are over scheduled and trying to pay attention to their patient's needs and slowed down by late patients? I try to be on time and very rarely have to wait long so I think its pretty equitable. If I was late all the time and then had to wait for the doctor to be able to fit me back in, I don't think I would be in a position where I could complain.