Healthgrades.com and doctor reviews

[Midpack]

My PCP has referred me to a specialist in a field we know nothing about. From what I could tell, Healthgrades.com is one of the more high traffic healthcare review sites, but that doesn't mean it's the most reliable. When I looked at the specialist, his reviews are almost entirely 'he's perfect' or 'the worst doctor on the planet.' I am not sure if I should look elsewhere, or go with the PCP's referral. I am well aware online reviews can be completely unfair. Our PCP has a perfect 5 star rating on Healthgrades.com by the way and we are very happy with her.

Or what is a good way to choose a doctor? I don't know anyone who's seen this specialist so that's not an option.

 

[athena53]

I'm skeptical. Eons ago I read a memoir by the Mayo brothers in which they observed that the folksy, friendly doc who sits down and asks how your kids are tends to get high credibility among patients regardless of competence and the brilliant but no-people-skills doc that other doctors send their families to are viewed unfavorably.

For me, a place like Healthgrades is good for general questions- how well-run is the office, how long did you have to wait, did the doc take time to answer questions. I think it's hard for a layperson to evaluate a doctor's competence. Sometimes even when something goes wrong, it's a Stuff Happens thing.

 

[disneysteve]

Online reviews are beyond worthless to the point of being potentially dangerous. In this case the doc has 39 reviews despite probably treating thousands of patients. The reviews are meaningless. Who is most likely to give a review? A disgruntled patient or even a former employee who wasn’t happy. You don’t need to be a patient to post a review. Every year when the Top Docs voting starts we get numerous emails reminding us to vote for the doctors in our system. Those top doc awards mean nothing except they got all of their friends and family to vote for them.

Ignore the reviews. Trust your PCP. And ask around if anyone you know has actually been to this person.

 

[OldShooter]

I'm skeptical. Eons ago I read a memoir by the Mayo brothers in which they observed that the folksy, friendly doc who sits down and asks how your kids are tends to get high credibility among patients regardless of competence and the brilliant but no-people-skills doc that other doctors send their families to are viewed unfavorably. ...

This.Those sites are beyond worthless, verging on dangerous.

 

[Lewis Clark]

Online reviews are beyond worthless to the point of being potentially dangerous.

+1

As a former teacher, I was in a position to read frequent anonymous reviews of my work from my students.

Everybody has an opinion and that's fine. But I got tired of seeing supposedly factual statements made about me and my classes that were not true. Based on my experiences, anonymous reviews hold zero credibility in my eyes. I do not read them, nor do I write them.

 

[ivinsfan]

Ignore it! Trust your PCP and if the MD is a disappointment report that back to her. Also beware of the fact that some specialists march to the beat of a different drummer and sometimes you just have to roll with it.



In our experience the one specialist (heart surgeon) we've dealt with turned out to be literally one of the most epic humans we've ever encountered. We were fully prepared to get a surgeon with "attitude" and didn't care as long as they were good.

 

[Aerides]

Ignore the reviews. Trust your PCP.

I mostly ignore the reviews, but I don't always have much trust in my PCP. Have they personally had services from this specialist? Not likely.

But I do read reviews, though put little weight in them. So much stuff gets mixed in like...billing problems, late appointments, nothing to do with actual medical care. Mostly I'm looking also at their office location, their staff. A great doctor with a terrible front office is a bad choice for me.

Beyond that: I'm a customer as much as a patient. I figure I can learn for myself if we're going to be a fit and move on if I'm not happy with the first meeting.

 

[Sarah S]

You can look up their license on the medical board. Atleast in MA it will show any malpractice judgments and any action taken by the board. Especially malpractice is not the greatest indicator of quality as excellent doctors can be unlucky and some specialties are more prone to being sued.

As someone noted being a “ nice” doctor is not always associated with competence. Healthgrades is a great place for people with an axe to grind

 

[Silver]

You can look up their license on the medical board. Atleast in MA it will show any malpractice judgments and any action taken by the board. Especially malpractice is not the greatest indicator of quality as excellent doctors can be unlucky and some specialties are more prone to being sued.

As someone noted being a “ nice” doctor is not always associated with competence. Healthgrades is a great place for people with an axe to grind

Agree 100% with Sarah. My go-to answer is always "ask a nurse you trust", but that isn't always possible.

Next best thing is the Medical Quality Assurance office within the health department of your state. There are usually practitioner profiles of all licensed individuals, and they can provide information about liability claims or disciplinary actions. This information does not always translate into outcome data, which is pretty much impossible to find in any physician-specific manner.

I would make the appointment and then ask that physician about their outcome data. If it is a surgical specialty, ask about how many of your specific procedures they do every year. The simple principle in surgery is "the more often you do it, the better you are" is true.

 

[Aerides]

Or what is a good way to choose a doctor?

This is where the type of doctor, and the service you need, are key. Have questions ready.

For a possible surgery, you want to take note of how quickly they confirm surgery vs. PT/MRI's, etc. I want a surgeon who looks at surgery as something to avoid if it's a long recovery (shoulder), but not so much if it's simple (torn meniscus).

For something that might have you in the hospital, bedside manner is more important. I want a cardiologist I like. I might be waking up to them for days. They might be speaking with my family on my behalf one day.

I never want to feel rushed. I want a doctor that I can ask questions of, ask about extra tests, PT recommendations, stuff like that.

Now, all that said, it depends on your situation. If you have a new test with a possible acute problem, just go to the PCP place to get the diagnosis properly confirmed and dealt with, asap. But for something longer term and chronic, feel free to shop around.

For example, last year I had some new thryoid polyp (benign). PCP sent me to a specialist for a biopsy. Scheduling was a bit of a PITA. The office visit was ok, but I definitely didn't get any warm fuzzies from the doctor. I remember thinking...uh...not for me. While I have to check up on this annually, I plan to find a different doctor going forward for this particular concern.

 

[Midpack]

For a possible surgery, you want to take note of how quickly they confirm surgery vs. PT/MRI's, etc. I want a surgeon who looks at surgery as something to avoid if it's a long recovery (shoulder), but not so much if it's simple (torn meniscus).

+10.

I’m going to proceed with the appt and ignore the online reviews.

But your POV is what I expect of a good doctor (my Dad was an ortho surgeon). Unfortunately I had a specialist recommend a significant surgery based solely on one test that turned out to be a false positive - NEVER AGAIN. When I suggested we do a retest first, he was highly put off. I did a retest on my own, and while I didn’t rub anyone’s nose in it, I shared those results with the specialist, my former PCP and his nurse who all fought me until my retest. Radio silence thereafter.

Sadly you have to be your own educated advocate today, albeit respectfully.

 

[FindingForward]

+10.

I’m going to proceed with the appt and ignore the online reviews.

But your POV is what I expect of a good doctor (my Dad was an ortho surgeon). Unfortunately I had a specialist recommend a significant surgery based solely on one test that turned out to be a false positive - NEVER AGAIN. When I suggested we do a retest first, he was highly put off. I did a retest on my own, and while I didn’t rub anyone’s nose in it, I shared those results with the specialist, my former PCP and his nurse who all fought me until my retest. Radio silence thereafter.

Sadly you have to be your own educated advocate today, albeit respectfully.

So true. Another thing that surprises me, (maybe this belongs in the "pet peeves" thread,) is that most docs I've been to don't insist on viewing the actual imaging results they ordered for a patient.

They get a summary report from imaging center and use that, trusting that whomever interpreted the scans read them accurately.

This has huge ramifications on DXAs, MRIs or other tests that drive life-changing medications and/or surgery decisions - yet may have been read by an inexperienced or distracted doc at the imaging center who didn't pay close enough attention and missed something impt.

There should be a "second" pair of eyes on every scan.

 

[braumeister]

So true. Another thing that surprises me, (maybe this belongs in the "pet peeves" thread,) is that most docs I've been to don't insist on viewing actual imaging results they ordered for a patient.

They get a summary report from imaging center and just trust that whomever interpreted actual scans read them accurately- vs. verifying this by studying the actual scans themselves.

I believe in most cases this is because they don't trust themselves to read the images properly. Some can, but many can't. There's a reason radiologists are well paid.

 

[disneysteve]

For something that might have you in the hospital, bedside manner is more important. I want a cardiologist I like. I might be waking up to them for days. They might be speaking with my family on my behalf one day.

Be careful about that, though. If your doctor is part of a large group, as most of them are today, the doctor who sees you in the hospital may not be the one you saw in the office. My mom has a cardiologist who we like a lot. She has been in the hospital 3 times in the past couple of years. Each time she was seen by cardiology during her stay. Not once during those stays was she ever seen by "her" cardiologist. She was seen by whichever member of the group was making rounds that day, and it wasn't the same person each day. Fortunately, it's a good group and we've had no issues with any of them, but just keep in mind that in the hospital, you may or may not see the specific doctor that you chose.

 

[disneysteve]

I believe in most cases this is because they don't trust themselves to read the images properly. Some can, but many can't. There's a reason radiologists are well paid.

That's a huge mistake on the doctors' part. Radiologists are great, but they're also human. They make mistakes. They miss things. Also they know nothing about the patient. All they're doing is looking at the images.


Many times I have found things on x-rays that the radiologist missed. I always call them to take another look and confirm my findings, which they almost always have, and they are always grateful for me catching it.

 

[disneysteve]

There should be a "second" pair of eyes on every scan.

This is an area where AI is coming into play. Computer-aided radiology is a growing field. Hopefully it never replaces humans but humans are imperfect and having a computer also read the films can be very beneficial.

 

[athena53]

I would make the appointment and then ask that physician about their outcome data. If it is a surgical specialty, ask about how many of your specific procedures they do every year. The simple principle in surgery is "the more often you do it, the better you are" is true.

Even outcome data can be hard to interpret. When I had DS, I chose a doctor based on nurse recommendations. He specialized in high-risk pregnancies and infertility. Other than being 31 (they used to describe someone having their first child as an "elderly primagravida" ), I had zero high-risk factors and had an uneventful pregnancy and delivery. Still, if doctors referred patients with high-risk pregnancies to him, his stats might have been worse than average.

 

[Chuckanut]

I interview doctors the same way I interview a mechanic. I start with little things. For example, my orthopedic doc retired last year. This year I will test a new Orthopedic by getting my Euflexia shot from him. Sort of like an oil change for my knee. If he and his staff pass that test, I will probably call him for other problems with my bum knee. Just as if the mechanic does a good job off changing the oil and filter I may try him out for other issues that come up with my car. If either tries to spook me or con me or I get a feeling that they don’t give a hoot if I stay or leave, I’ll try another doc or mechanic. I am blessed to live in an area with many fine physicians so I can afford to be picky. IMO, it’s harder to find a good mechanic than a good doc.

What I won’t do is jump around shopping here and there to find the perfect mechanic or doc.

 

[Aerides]

I believe in most cases this is because they don't trust themselves to read the images properly. Some can, but many can't. There's a reason radiologists are well paid.

I agree that's a specialty. But my very good ortho doc will not only explain the report to me, show me the scans, and then talk through how the report ties to the images to show me exactly what they represent. A whole bunch of "see that there? That's your thing here, that's what's causing the xyz" - that's the discussion I'd expect before I decide if someone is going to be my doc.

 

[Koolau]

That's a huge mistake on the doctors' part. Radiologists are great, but they're also human. They make mistakes. They miss things. Also they know nothing about the patient. All they're doing is looking at the images.


Many times I have found things on x-rays that the radiologist missed. I always call them to take another look and confirm my findings, which they almost always have, and they are always grateful for me catching it.

Now that is frightening.

DW got a call from doc saying she had something wrong in her x-ray and it needed a rapid follow up based on her history of cancer. When we got to the hosp., they hooked her up with IV to do a contrast or some such. THEN I saw the original image and said - "that is not DW's X-ray." They all looked at me like I was some sort of fungus on a soiled used bandage in the trash.

DW is missing half a lung and I know what that looks like. I've seen it many times. When I leaned into the image, I noticed it even had the wrong name on the image.

Injury to insult, they sent her a bill! (We gently reminded them of their error and the bill magically went away.) You gotta be your own advocate and not fear calling something out that seems wrong. YMMV

 

[disneysteve]

You gotta be your own advocate and not fear calling something out that seems wrong.

100% this! Never hesitate to ask a question or speak up if you don't understand something or if something doesn't sound quite right.


When my wife and my mom were in the hospital, I stayed at their sides as much as I could and was able to head off way too many misadventures that would have occurred had I not been there. It's really quite scary. Medical errors are real. They happen thousands of times a day across the country at any and all institutions from the smallest community hospital to the most prestigious medical centers. Most are minor with little to no ill effects but others can be more serious.


One simple example. I took my mom to the ER. While there, she was given a dose of Pantoprazole for her stomach. Once she was admitted and up in her room, the nurse came in with meds. I asked what they were and one of them was Pantoprazole. I pointed out that she had just gotten a dose an hour earlier in the ER so didn't need another one until the next day. Now an extra dose of that would have done her absolutely no harm, but what if it had been a blood pressure pill or diabetes pill. That could have caused problems.

 

[Sunset]

I believe in most cases this is because they don't trust themselves to read the images properly. Some can, but many can't. There's a reason radiologists are well paid.

Not the ones in India.

Some places send the scans to India, it's read, and results sent back.

 

[ShadowBloom]

I am blessed to live in an area with many fine physicians so I can afford to be picky.

My area also has many fine doctors, but most of them are scheduling 4-6 months out. It's very difficult to see someone new in a reasonable time period. I've ended up staying with physicians who are competent but whom I don't like because of that.

 

[Midpack]

Now that is frightening.

DW got a call from doc saying she had something wrong in her x-ray and it needed a rapid follow up based on her history of cancer. When we got to the hosp., they hooked her up with IV to do a contrast or some such. THEN I saw the original image and said - "that is not DW's X-ray." They all looked at me like I was some sort of fungus on a soiled used bandage in the trash.

DW is missing half a lung and I know what that looks like. I've seen it many times. When I leaned into the image, I noticed it even had the wrong name on the image.

Injury to insult, they sent her a bill! (We gently reminded them of their error and the bill magically went away.) You gotta be your own advocate and not fear calling something out that seems wrong. YMMV

Your example is clear evidence of that.

However, a caveat.

I believe educating yourself in advance is a must to advocate for yourself. If you don’t have enough curiosity and self interest to make the effort to learn in advance from credible sources (not a random someone on FB), you forfeit most of your right to debate or question the doctors recommendations. A few basic questions but don’t expect a doctor to spend 30 minutes justifying their every decision.

I suspect a good doctor appreciates a patient who has made the effort to know a little about their situation, and asks thoughtful questions with due respect. What they don’t appreciate is patients with (endless) questions when it’s clear the patient doesn’t know what they’re talking about. More common now than it used to be, lots of bad info to glom on to these days...

 

[Aerides]

I suspect a good doctor appreciates a patient who has made the effort to know a little about their situation, and asks thoughtful questions with due respect. What they don’t appreciate is patients with (endless) questions when it’s clear the patient doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

I think far worse, and far more common, is the "new expert" phenomenon. The person who has self-diagnosed via doctor google, and now thinks they know better than their actual doctor.

I can't imagine any of us here would do that but I'm sure it happens...