Online Doctor Review Sites – Fact or Fraud?

Online Doctor Review Sites – Fact or Fraud?

Online Doctor Review sites present questions of potentially misleading or fraudulent information for patients trying to choose the best naturopathic doctor. 

USA Today’s October 19, 2015 article states even Amazon is continuing its fight against fake reviews, suing over 1,000 people allegedly selling comments for a fee. This is a huge concern when you consider that 93% of Canada’s population uses the internet, especially given that almost 60% of patients make use of online physician ratings, and this resource is growing in popularity, according to a recent survey released by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

RateMyNaturopath.com is the only dedicated online doctor review site for licensed Naturopathic Doctors. With verified reviews, ratings, prices and comparisons, RateMyNaturopath.com provides critical decision-making information for patients to choose the best Naturopathic Doctor for their natural health journey.

RateMyNaturopath.com verifies the reviews posted by patients of Naturopathic Doctors. Patients are required to submit receipts from at least two visits, to ensure an adequate assessment of their Naturopathic Doctor.

Unlike traditional word-of-mouth communication which slowly shapes a doctor’s reputation, medical review sites project a single person’s impressions to thousands of potential patients instantly. 

Since many sites make little attempt to verify posted information, this can be very misleading to the public.

PROS of MEDICAL REVIEW SITES

• Potential patients can learn about other patient’s experiences 
• Helpful reviews outline a detailed patient experience including diagnosis, treatment, patient outcomes, doctor’s knowledge, and bedside manner
• Comprehensive medical review sites provide important information about the Naturopathic Doctor including years of experience, visit fee prices, location, types of diagnostic tests offered, etc.

CONS of MEDICAL REVIEW SITES

• Not All Doctor Review Sites are Created Equal
• Many review sites allow anyone to post reviews without verification
• Unverified reviews may be misleading, deceptive or even malicious. A reviewer could be a patient who saw the doctor only one time and did not like the treatment recommendation, or even the doctor’s competitor trying to tarnish their reputation. As a consequence, patients may be deterred from seeing effective doctors. 
• Patient comments may be subjective and not reflect their healthcare outcome.
• Patient satisfaction does not necessarily reflect effective healthcare. Giving a patient what they want to make them happy may not be what’s best for their health.
• Ineffective support staff may discredit a competent doctor, skewing their ratings
• Wait times & punctuality correlate weakly with a doctor’s quality of healthcare

RateMyNaturopath.com:

• aims to incorporate the positive elements of medical review sites while addressing the flaws as outlined above.
• provides easy to read comparison tables evaluating critical variables such as Naturopathic Doctors' Visit Fees, Years of Experience, Transparency Ratings, Reviews and Food Allergy / Sensitivity Tests Offered.
• verifies the reviews posted by patients of Naturopathic Doctors. Patients are required to submit receipts from at least two visits, to ensure an adequate assessment of their Naturopathic Doctor.
• provides Verified Reviews, Ratings, Prices and Comparisons for licensed Naturopathic Physicians to ensure that healthcare consumers will have access to the best quality information when choosing their ideal Naturopathic Doctor.