Have you checked your profile on Physician Compare lately? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hopes that consumers will flock to their Physician Compare website when deciding which physicians to choose. But despite the increasing popularity of health care rating websites, Physician Compare has not become a highly utilized tool by either patients or practitioners and has fallen short of expectations. The website does have the potential to provide physicians, consumers and other practitioners with important information to inform upon their health care decision-making.
Physician Compare developed out of an increased focus among health care stakeholders related to patient satisfaction scores. However, the website has had a rocky history. Physician Compare has experienced several significant errors since its December 2010 debut. For the first few years, the website at times provided incorrect contact information for many providers and it was difficult for physicians to update and correct the...
