What To Look For With Physician Reviews
Sites offering physician reviews are really valuable in helping you find the right doctor, but you've got to be able to read them critically. This article is about how you should read them so that you'll get the greatest benefit.
Physician reviews offer a great tool to help you find a doctor. These are sites where people just like you rate doctors after they visit them. They can also leave comments describing the visit in detail. These help by telling you about the doctor; it's like a modern day version of "word of mouth." You can get a recommendation from a total stranger on which doctor's a good one; and an equally important warning about the ones you should avoid.
If you're new to using sites that provide physician reviews,
here are some things you should know about what to look for when reading them.
Red Flags
The most important thing to look for are "red flags." These are little details mentioned in the comments that offer warnings to you, telling you that you shouldn't bother with this doctor. For example, you need your experience with the doctor to be friendly and comfortable. If a few other users mention that the doctor never smiles and made them uncomfortable, you can use this as a warning. This sets off a little alert in your head saying, "skip this one."
Reasons For Good or Bad Reviews
It's very easy for anyone to get onto one of these sites and give a doctor a good or bad review for no reason. All they have to do is rate them low, and a lot of other people will see that low rating only and move on. The most important thing about sites for physician reviews is that they give us information about the doctor. A good or bad rating with no information to back it up is completely useless to you.
You also have to read them carefully. For example, if someone says, "Wonderful doctor; I'd definitely visit their clinic again," this doesn't give you much information. The fact that somebody really liked the service is nice to know, but how do you know if you'll feel the same way? Everyone's different and this type of comment really gives you nothing to go on.
Similarly, it does mean something when a doctor gets bad reviews consistently. But without some reasons why, you never know. If a user says, "terrible clinic, don't go there," it's a little scary. But still, you need to know why they said there. There are any number of reasons why someone may have put that comment; they may have been having a bad day, they may be a compulsive complainer or they may hate ALL doctors! It doesn't do you much good.
When you read comments on physician reviews sites, always make sure that you read enough to get a feel for whether they're right for you.
Sites with physician reviews offer a great way to find out about doctors before you visit the clinic. Although there are lots of people posting valuable comments, there are also those who complain or praise for no reason. You have to get a sense of the writer's state of mind, which isn't easy when all you've got is a name to go by. If you're good friend recommended a doctor, you'd go without question, but these people aren't your best friends! Read their comments critically and you'll be able to make an informed decision.
