After a decade of working in Australian healthcare, there is one topic that may trigger a near-physical reaction in many doctors. We live in an age where people can instantaneously share their Uber rides and takeaway meals on social media. On the plus side, transparent reflections allow individuals know exactly what they’re getting into, especially when there’s a lot of feedback.
The disadvantage of healthcare is that it may rapidly become personal, phony, and harmful. The debate is complicated, as are the dynamics of directory websites that can function as quasi-review sites and offer appointment scheduling services.
Some Doctors require these to promote and recruit patients, while some sites feature Doctors without their permission or registration, allowing patients to anonymously review them. The sites cleverly include a “Claim Your Profile” option as well. Because consumers can “List by Practice” and “List by Practitioner,” they can also “Review By” under each of these options.
Although it is legal for these sites to operate and provide this service, healthcare professionals are required to follow rigorous testimonial criteria, so even positive ratings cannot be used openly. When you add in the Health Engine controversies including manipulating patient reviews on their website, you’ve got yourself a steaming mess of an “industry.” Whatever your stance on it, it’s one that’s crept up slowly over the last few years and shows no signs of slowing down.
For the curious, here are some of the websites that currently review Australian doctors to varying degrees (except for Google Reviews and Health Engine, which just removed this feature.
The site, which began as a tool for comparing health-care providers, has been fraught with controversy. Doctor groups have expressed their concerns about privacy issues, but it has managed to avoid the same level of public attention as Health Engine and continues to position itself as the “Trip Advisor” for healthcare. Visit us at https://doctorai.com.au/ to know more about our services.