Zagat's M.D.

The next time you visit your physician, you might do the checkup. Health insurer WellPoint this March will allow its 35 million members to post online reviews of their doctors. The Indianapolis-based company will team up with Zagat’s, publisher of the popular diner-written restaurant guides, to deliver customer-generated ratings for healthcare providers.

Of course, patients evaluating physicians is not new. What is new is the method: publishing what used to be across-the-back-fence conversations on the Web. The system will allow patients who recently visited the doctor to log onto their insurer’s website and supply ratings on a four-point scale in several areas, including doctor availability, office environment, trustworthiness, and communication. After a doctor receives a minimum of 10 user-submitted ratings, the site compiles the feedback and assigns an overall score from one to 30.

Though independent sites like RateMD already allow users to leave doctor reviews, some experts think WellPoint’s new service could spark a trend. “The importance of user-generated content will only increase, and it will be of tremendous value to the industry for these perspectives to be part of the conversation,” says Tony Chen, founder of Hospital Impact, a popular industry blog. “The question is whether or not consumers will use it, believe it, and act upon it.”

Just don’t expect the Zagatification of healthcare overnight, says Matthew Holt, a leading healthcare researcher and forecaster. “Online reviews are one of many things that will help highlight features like after-hours care and lower waiting times. But the movement is in its infancy. It took five to seven years to make a big impact in restaurants, travel, and other industries, and it’s just starting in healthcare.” Regardless, we give WellPoint an “A” for effort.

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Not a WellPoint member? Rate your doctor at Rate MD, Healthcare Reviews, and Dr. Score. HealthGrades provides independent reviews and profiles of hospitals, doctors, and nursing homes, while Nationwide MD assigns ratings based on things like a doctor’s background report, professional reputation, and published works.

The Zagats put their guide empire on sale in January. The New York Times has the scoop, while Newsday has some interesting facts about the company (total reviewers: 300,000) and a timeline.

Smart Money asks the question on everyone’s mind: Should you trust user-generated reviews? Read on to find out.

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