The Doctor-Patient R'ship

How hard is it to find a physician in a new city!? Even if you have access to your insurer's tome (or maybe a small pamphlet) of participating physicians, its tough to know who to pick when you don't have a point of comparison. Even if you ask a neighbor or friend, word-of-mouth is unreliable because there are just too many factors that can make a visit go from great to terrible. Not considering that every patient is literally unique, from genetics to demographics to presenting symptoms. A fact of medicine that's too often overlooked.

Comparing physicians on efficiency though is hard. Dr. Thomas Lee's put together a quick FAQ to explain why. Click below for a better view.

Basically what patients want physicians just aren't ready to give, and for good reason. "Assymetry of information" gets thrown around a lot and its true. The knowledge gap between physicians and patients is enormous, and middleman websites can't make up for 10 years worth of education. Zagat wants to rate physicians on trust, communication, environment and availability. I'm not sure if our loved ones would pass that test. The bridge has to be built on effective communication, where the definition of "effective" is agreed on by both parties. Not third party payers, vendors, clearinghouses, or websites. Its not a round table discussion; its a one-on-one meeting.