In today’s culture of crowdsourcing, there are numerous websites devoted to grading doctors—and these rating systems have both limitations and advantages.
According to a July 5, 2018 Prevention.com article, it may be unwise to rely too heavily on online doctor rating systems. For instance, the reviews could reflect bias on the part of the reviewer. Or a patient may rate a doctor highly because the doctor did what the patient wanted—but not necessarily what was best for their health.
On the other hand, sometimes online doctor ratings can be a good thing, according to Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. “Consumers deserve to know how good their doctors and hospitals are,” he said, adding that consumers’ interest in both writing and reading online reviews will force change in the medical profession, such as making doctors more responsive to people’s needs and more focused on what patients care about.
Read the Prevention.com article: The Reasons You Shouldn’t Always Trust Online Doctor Reviews