Today I'd like to feature a quote from a friend, that really struck me as spot-on.
He and I were talking about the shitty reviews people leave on rate-a-doc sites, and he said:
"You know, it's really too bad that people get their pre-conceptions of something as important as their medical care from places like Google and Yelp. It's like getting your wine selection from a drunk passed-out on MD-20/20 lying next to the railroad tracks."
Thank you, OC!
An unfortunate aspect is that most of the reviews come from dissatisfied customers. My late father in law was a doctor. There was one review online of him saying he was difficult to work with. The backstory is he didn't take any insurance business he wasn't legally required to. And this guy (the complainer) loved filing insurance or something.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, when Dr. Dad died, the church was filled with his patients.
And, that's how she rolls. All those Press-Ganey reviews should be taken with a grain, or two of sodium chloride, not lithium chloride or the carbonate salt, eh? Maryland?
ReplyDeleteI've never left an online review of a doctor or any other person; I don't feel qualified to give an assessment. If a friend or colleague asks me about an experience with Dr. Whozit, I'll give them my personal impression, but it's not something I'm comfortable putting out in public.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine, though, moved to a new city and went to a gynecologist specifically for her annual exam and to get a new prescription for birth control, which she had been on for several years. The doctor said that she wouldn't write it because she was a devout Catholic and didn't believe in it. My friend posted that online because she felt that other women deserved to know since that's a common reason for wanting to see that type of physician.
I have only ever left a single review of a doctor's office -- actually it was a medical practice.
ReplyDeleteYears ago after a serious illness caused physical injury, I wound up on pain meds and was sent to a pain clinic to have them managed. The doctor I saw decided, without benefit of examination or medical records or testing, that I "must have fibromyalgia" and put that in my records.
That said...
I've read online reviews of doctors and I look at them the same way I look at any other review: What's the angle? Is this person disgruntled because of a bad experience? More importantly, is there a pattern of other people saying something similar?
Shit happens, and people have the right to be upset and angry when it does, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a regular occurrence. With all review sites you need to learn which reviews to take at face value. (The answer is: very few of them.)
On the pharmacy end of things I'm constantly amazed at how customer complaints invariably have "facts" added to the complaint that didn't actually happen. What's more, upper management views any complaint as authentic.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, it usually involves some sort of pay off with a gift card.
I feel the same way about the "rate-your-professor" sites.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago in the midst of a medical crisis and in need of a specialist, I went to the reviews, There was a review that read "Not much personality but knows his stuff" A glowing tribute if there ever was one.
ReplyDeleteSo ............ three years later in remission I like to think that the drunk passed out on Mogen David lying next to the tracks sometimes is the guy to ask when you want a type of result
Yup, I'm with you Packer. I can live without the personality (although my last knee surgeon was a hoot!) but when I'm really ill, I will take one that knows her/his stuff any day! Hell, I'll even take an intelligent yak herder!
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