Physician Search: Seeking the “Holy Grail”

Posted by michaelryan

May 21, 2008

How do consumers find, research, evaluate and determine the best doctor for them? I am NOT talking about the one we see on televison for the past 40 years… I did a quick www.google.com search and typed in “Best Doctors” and 640,000 search results came up in 0.09 seconds ; and at www.yahoo.com received 4,040,000 in 0.25 seconds which are amazing database responses, however, I am not sure how useful it is in my or others specific circumstances of needs of finding a provider. The top results (first page)s showed “best doctors” articles from various regional magazines none from where I lived as well as eight (8) display ads from companies. I am not sure this is the best way to ensure you and your family are getting a quality provider.

I can tell you from my own personal search for a physician it can be very time consuming and frustrating. Last year our family physician retired and I needed to find another one. My wife has her “best” OB/GYN and my son has his “best” pediatrician since his birth. So I went to my health insurance provider’s online portal and began searching for a physician. First, I choose the specialty, board certification, then location, then other factors I was interested in (for me having online communications with my doctor was important priority). I clicked off my requirements and recieved 10 pages of physicians that met my criteria (I guess living in a medical hub such as San Francisco isn’t typical) and began the process of reading their profiles. I appreciate my health insurance provider having such a tool, however, it was a bit overwhelming even for me as someone who is a former hospital CEO and who over my career managed the Georgetown medical school residency programs over the past 20 years . I knew what I needed and what to look for, but the process was very time consuming, ineffiecent and frustrating at times. Once I had reviewed each physician’s profile I needed to then call their offices to set up a time to meet with them and determine if what I read on paper was good in person.

Now, I know a common “short cut” to this process is to get a direct referral from friends and family or physicians, however, I can only imagine what others experience in trying to select such an important part of their healthcare decision making. Now add to that if suddenly you or a family member were diagnoses with a life threatening or serious illness and wanted a second opinion or “the best” in the business. I know it occures every day across the country. I had a conversation with a friend who searched for nine months for cause of his illness and tried to find a specialist who could correctly diagnosis and provide treatment options for his disease. He was very frustrated and concerned about the process consumers of healthcare must endure every day in searching for providers and solutions for their illnesses.

I conducted a “non-technical” survey of my network which includes many healthcare providers, very experienced physicians and other “consumers” and asked the question, “Where can I find a listing of the Best Doctors in the US”. Not surprisingly, many did not have a clue. And this included a collective 1,000+ years of experience of people who work every day in the healthcare industry at hospitals, clinics, physician practices. Here is a few responses:

“When one strips off the hype, only good doctors & nurses know who are the good doctors, both locally & nationally. There will probably be metrics to assist with this, but not for a few years” —A board certified neurosurgeon with 30 years experience

“I don’t know of any top lists nationally. In SF there is a list of the top docs in each specialty from SF magazine. I am sure there are similar lists in different locations.” —Yale educated MD practicing at leading medical center

“Nothing reliably. Each region has its top docs, i’d ask a fellow in the teaching institution if interested.” - MD practicing at world class medical center

“The one publication rating docs that I know is just US News and World Report. Our local Louisville Magazine has a yearly top docs list as do most other local magazines. Most of it is political BS…” —MD in practice for 20 years

If people who do know the “best” providers (quality) but there is no way for the consumers to access such “private” database and recommendations, there seems to be an opportunity as my friend above states to build a system that is national in scope, verifiable, unbiased and accessible to the consumer 24/7 online to enable them the tools to make the best healthcare decisions for themselves and their families maybe the “Holy Healthy Grail” of the future. More to come….

Take Care,

Michael