The Best Doctor Review Web Sites

I’m expecting a baby in the next few weeks, and it’s time my husband and I pick out a pediatrician. I’ve heard good things about one local doctor in particular, but I wanted to learn more about him before meeting with him. I turned to Google and got a score of doctor review web sites – so, I decided to give them all a try. After all, when it comes to choosing your baby’s doctor, you can never have enough information.

In no particular order, here is what I learned about each site using the aforementioned potential pediatrician as my search example.

www.ratemds.com
This site had his name and basic information listed, but had no reviews about him. I found the number of ads on this site intrusive – there were more ads than there was information about the doctor.
One cool feature: a direct link to his official Florida licensing information. Not just a link to the state licensing web site, but specifically to his information. That was very helpful.

www.vitals.com
Easy to find his name. He had just 1 review – but it had been pulled off of yahoo.com’s reviews site, and it was about the entire practice, NOT my doctor, posted by one angry parent who didn’t get a call back fast enough in the middle of the night. The rating was one star, and if I hadn’t poked around, I would have thought it was about this doctor in particular. Still, it’s a review, and that’s what I was looking for.
In addition to this one review, vitals.com also had a lot of useful information about him and his practice, such as the types of insurance accepted, and his complete education and experience.
The ads on this site were only mildly intrusive.

www.doctortree.org
There was no way I could find to search by name, so I had to select Florida, then my city, then scan for him. His name wasn’t listed, but his group was – but alas, no reviews.

www.bookofdoctors.com
I searched for him by name, but it wasn’t found. Neither was his practice. It’s a shame, because the site design is aesthetically pleasing and it was very easy to use.
Keep in mind that this doctor has been at the same practice since the 1990’s, so if he isn’t at least listed (reviews or not), it’s got to be because the site has poor coverage.

www.doctorscorecard.com
This is a very user-friendly web site, but my doctor and his practice were not listed. However, it’s very simple to add a doctor.
Also, there is a friendly link to every state’s medical license look-up, which could be very helpful for someone digging around for info but not sure where to go.

www.drscore.com
I found the doctor listed with some basic information (address, practice name), but no rating.

www.healthcarereviews.com
This site obviously was designed to impress, but there was no match on his name or his practice.

www.healthgrades.com
Finally, another site that lists him and has a rating! Like vitals.com, it had very detailed info on him and his practice. I was pleased with this site.

Lastly, I decided to just do a Google business search (type in the doctor’s name and city, and the first link should be to the business page). Incredibly, all the info from the two sites I liked the most – vitals.com and healthgrades.com – is aggregated on this page. To avoid sifting through all these review sites, I heartily recommend just using Google. I didn’t think it possible, but Google has yet another unexpected niche!