Move over RateMDs and RevolutionHealth, here comes Zagat’s
by Tony Chen
I’m sure most of us are very familiar with Zagat, the “go-to” resource for rating restaurants all across the world. I wore out my NYC Zagat’s guide when I lived in NJ - there is a sense that you’re getting the “insider scoop” on each restaurant along with objective ratings. Their success has led them to also rate nightlife, golf courses, hotels, shopping, and other entertainment destinations.
And now, Zagat will be rating physicians, or to be more specific, WellPoint physicians. The methodology will be quite similar - they’ll use real patient comments that are representative of the larger pool of comments. And they’ll provide numerical scores (up to 30) for 4 key factors: trust, communication, availability, and office environment.
I have to say - I think this is brilliant on a few different levels. First, I can’t think of any brands more trusted than Zagat’s when it comes to peer-to-peer info sharing & rating. Second, the 4 factors are perfect. Some may say - what about clinical quality? clinical outcomes? cost? I think WellPoint purposely decided not to touch quality, cost, or other factors that would draw on claims data - this keeps them from being part of recent controversies. Plus, this is a consumer-driven tool - in the mind of consumers, quality is a subset of trust. Let other sites deal with the complexity of costs.
What do you think? Any physicians out there that care to comment on this?
UPDATE: read more conversations and reactions here.
