Who is the best doctor?
I recently spoke to Dr. Jorge Mestman about the issue of finding a good doctor. I asked him if consumer ratings of physicians would help patients find their way to better care and he responded with a resounding “no.” I was somewhat taken aback and asked why he felt that way. What he said was surprising (this is not actually a direct quote, I’m summarizing):
“The best doctor is YOUR doctor. Over time a physician develops a relationship with a patient and an understanding of their issues that is very valuable. The problem with seeing a specialist is that they have no baseline to compare you to – they may make recommendations based on their best analysis of the situation at that point in time. But they can be wrong.
Also, physicians – like any human being – have different skills and styles. Some are great listeners and excel in empathy, others have a ‘tough love’ approach, still others are research oriented and like to delve into the ‘nitty gritty.’ How can one person’s rating capture all of that? Most physicians are good people with good clinical skills. The right one is the one that you like. Also, it’s simply not possible for a few highly rated physicians to care for vast numbers of patients. If people limited themselves to only seeing certain physicians (who got high ratings), they’d be turned away due to the over-demand.”
What do you think of Dr. Mestman’s analysis?
Val Jones is a licensed practitioner of Rehabilitation Medicine and Senior Medical Director of Revolution Health’s portal. No information in this blog is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. The opinions expressed here are Val’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Revolution Health.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
