Reduce Your Risk of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits with Physician Ranking Websites
Written by Cooper & Friedman PLLC on June 23, 2016
It seems like every time we turn on the news, there is some horror story involving medical malpractice lawsuits. These stories recount botched surgeries, serious medical errors and even unexpected deaths. And now researchers at Johns Hopkins are estimating that medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States. This means that 10 percent of U.S. deaths are due to medical mistakes that may in fact be preventable.
These alarming statistics reaffirm the importance of choosing the best physician you can to handle your health care needs. With more than 100,000 doctors of medicine located all over the country, it can seem overwhelming to find the best doctor for your case. Yet with advancements in medicine and technology, there are now some physician ranking websites. These help you find your next surgeon, OBGYN, pediatrician or other medical specialist.
An Overview of 5 Websites that Offer Physician Ratings
- Healthgrades.com – This site allows users to search doctors or dentists by name. You also have the option to search for physician and hospitals based on specialty, location, and ratings. This website provides more information about the physician’s experience, hospital quality and patient satisfaction. Patients provide reviews and surveys to rate these physicians. This website is helpful when selecting your physician based off of your needs and wants.
- Vitals.com – This site provides a lot of information about physicians. Users have the ability to search by state, condition, specialty and subspecialty. You can also search inside categories created strictly for children and adolescent care providers. These physician profiles are based off of seven criteria. This includes: ease of appointment, promptness, courteousness of staff, accurate diagnosis, bedside manner, time and follow up. This is a comprehensive site that assists individuals in making educated decisions.
- ZocDoc.com – Being the oldest website used for scheduling physician appointments, ZocDoc has a lot of search options and reviews based on three criteria. This directory is available as an app as well.
- Healthcarereviews.com – As a global physician review website, this site provides patient and physician information based on region. It also includes reviews of health plans and health professionals. This site is created simply as a review center, offering minimal contact information.
- Ratemds.com – This website is full of information including sections that allow you to search for a doctor, find a facility, read up on medical conditions, and even participate in a health forum discussion. With a handy map located at the top of the physician’s bio page, you can schedule an appointment or compare locations with ease.
These helpful and informative websites are built to encourage patients to take responsibility and make an educated decision when selecting a physician or understanding a diagnosis. Of course the actual process of receiving medical care is not always this simple. For example, in the event of an accident requiring immediate care, doing up front research may not be possible. These tools do however provide some useful information that may help you if you are comparing medical facilities, medical providers and more.
Getting Help with Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in Kentucky and Indiana
And if you or a loved one is ever the victim of medical negligence, it’s important to get the legal help that you deserve. For medical malpractice lawsuits in Kentucky or Indiana, give the Cooper and Friedman law firm a call at 502-459-7555. We offer free case consultations with our experienced medical malpractice attorneys. Cooper and Friedman medical malpractice lawyers have over 45 combined years of experience servicing Kentucky and Southern Indiana. And we’re proud of our A+ BBB Rating. Our injury attorneys have successfully recovered millions for victims in medical malpractice lawsuits.