4 ms·
It's because doctors and hospitals are increasingly evaluated based on patient satisfaction instead of patient outcomes. It's why you'll walk into a medical pl
by rrrrrrrrrrrryan 6y ago
It's because doctors and hospitals are increasingly evaluated based on patient satisfaction instead of patient outcomes.
It's why you'll walk into a medical plaza lobby that looks like a 4-star hotel, with fountains and art on the wall, and why the doctor will write you a prescription for an absurd dose of narcotics after surgery. After you've been cut open, it's normal to be in some pain for a while, but if the doctor drugs you into such a daze that you feel nothing, you'll rate him or her more highly. Even if 9/10 people end up being fine and stop taking the drug when they're supposed to, 1/10 people have a new addition.
This is bizarre the end-result of the privatization of our medical system. We're just one step away from rating doctors with stars like Uber, where they offer you drugs instead of a free water bottle when you walk in.
- nojito 6y agoThe field isn’t called patient satisfaction anymore. It’s called patient experience and it is pretty much ubiquitous to ensuring high quality patient care.
- wmeredith 6y agoHealthGrades.com and RateMDs.com is already a thing.
- R0b0t1 6y agoI see these as a consequence to having no real way to remove bad doctors through the legal system. They all protect each other. There's some idiots looking for narcotics, but that isn't all of it.
- rscho 6y agoThe more you'll sue doctors, the more MDs will practice defensive medicine and you'll end up with shit quality overly invasive care. The way to go is to sue the institutions, but not the practitioners themselves. Then the institution punishes the doc if warranted. In opposition to what you think, doctors are highly egoistical individuals and absolutely do not cover for one another.
- R0b0t1 6y agoWe already have defensively practiced, shit quality medicine. I was diagnosed late with ADHD, had to leave that doctor's practice, and finding another doctor who agrees with that diagnosis has been impossible. The tendency I observed when competency was questioned was to not punish in any way that had strong ramifications. They might badmouth them, but the desire to strip of their license or award large punitive damages isn't there because they are worried about it happening to them, real or imagined.
- rscho 6y agoAs an MD, I strongly agree. However, you forgot to mention the other side of this: a rating lower than two stars is combined with an immediate threat to sue.
- Florin_Andrei 6y agoBlame the doctors is part of the campaign to influence public opinion to save the Sacklers from the consequences of their actions. Find a different enemy to blame for everything. Just pay attention to the way the argument percolates through social media.