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| home > shop for affordable healthcare > quality |
| | Shop for affordable healthcare |
| Quality | | Obviously price is just one part of the decision making process when purchasing health care services. Quality, especially when considering your health, is also very important. | | | | | | Ideally, you would like to choose a doctor, surgeon or hospital not only on the cost of the service, but also on the likely outcome (positive results versus negatives ones). One example of a website that tracks hospital outcome quality is the U.S. Government's Hospital Compare website. Unfortunately, while an increasing number of organizations are attempting to measure healthcare outcomes, information is still limited. Without easy to understand information, it is hard for the average person to know if one doctor is better than another and very few of us know if we are placing our lives in the hands of the best or worst surgeon available. We are taught to trust doctors because they have years of training and fancy degrees but, like all professions, some doctors are better than others. Until better and easier to understand information is available tracking outcomes from our medical providers, we must trust the opinions of referring doctors, our insurance company or our family and friends. | | | | | | That said, there are companies who today track the quality of doctors and hospitals, but they are usually tracking things related to the overall patient experience as rated by the patients themselves, such as the bedside manner or punctuality of a doctor, rather the actual outcomes of the service or procedure. Your doctor may have the worst bedside manner in town, but still may be an excellent surgeon. However, to the average reviewer, bedside manner may be important. So, be careful when you read doctor reviews. Companies like Zagat and HealthGrades have been offering doctor ratings for several years. Some companies also offer ratings for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care areas. Regardless of the type of information being provided, additional quality information in the hands of a health care consumer is generally a good thing. Just make sure that you use this quality information as only one part of your decision and be careful to understand the difference between general quality ratings and actual outcome quality. Rating sites available to all consumers include: 1. HealthGrades.com 2. RateMDs.com 3. DrScore.com 4. BookofDoctors.com
Until better quality information is available, you should rely on your insurance company and referrals from your doctors to help you choose your health care service provider. Also, you should ask your surgeon or doctor about his or her history and experience. | | | |
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