MP3 file: List-en up! Episode 12: Angie's List launches medical ratings [10:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadTristan: Last month, Angie’s List launched medical ratings categories, in which members can write reports and submit ratings for various medical service providers. Angie herself shared the launch with the public here on the Angie’s List campus in Indianapolis.
Angie: For the past 13 years, we’ve been rating all types of local service. We started in home improvement in ‘95, and have expanded to cover auto repair, lawn care, and you may’ve even planned your wedding based on categories off of Angie’s List. Last year we added childcare as well as elder care services, and this year we’re adding the medical services. This came out of demand from our members. We polled our members and about ¾ of them said “Yes, we definitely want you to start rating health care providers.” People are looking for a doctor they can talk easily to and be open with. The key to a patient-doctor relationship is being able to communicate easily, and that’s the kind of information you can get from read¬ing reports on Angie’s List.
Tristan: As with other service providers, those in the medical categories won’t be able to add themselves to the List.
Angie: It’s all based on customers. The doctors will be added to the list when a patient has reported on an experience with them. The doctors don’t pay to be listed, so it’s all based on consumer feedback.
Tristan: Chris Austin knows all about the reports on Angie’s List. He joined the company eight years ago in customer service representative, and learned all about the List in several other positions. Today, he’s in charge of Angie’s List’s medical categories.
Chris: People in general get a little emotional when the subject of health care comes up. You never go to the doctor’s office when things are going great. Even if it’s a happy purpose, like you’re having a baby, you’re still taking a big step into which you’ve invested a lot of thought and emotion, and I think that goes into every visit and every exchange you have. There’s definitely an interest from the members, who want to see what each other have to say. There are a lot of physicians out there doing good work. I think people are generally happy with the care that they receive, and it’s fair to present that feedback.
Tristan: Angie’s List members can submit reports in 55 categories — with many more to come. Everything from Allergy & Immunology to Pediatricians to Vascular surgery is included. For the time being, members will be able to access medical reports and categories without having to pay anything extra.
Chris: We’re still collecting feedback about all the things people want to report on. We have a category called “MED: unrated services” so people can give us feedback even if we don’t already have the category in place for it, and we’ll reassign it as the new categories come online. There are a lot of things people are telling us about services that weren’t in the first batch. Acupuncture, podiatry, naturopathic medicine or alternative medicine, as well as more specialized things that aren’t as common or people don’t go to as often. Our goal is to eventually have spots for each of the specialties.
Tristan: As a member, if you have a problem with a health care provider and file a negative report, it’s possible to receive a response from the provider.
Chris: If members have had experiences they feel didn’t go the way they wanted it to and they want to share that with other members, they can do that with our forum and still have the same privacy as with positive experiences. Certainly the health care provider, if they have an interest in finding out who had this unsatisfactory experience, they can check with us and find out which of their patients had this experience. They then have options: they can go directly to the customer outside of Angie’s List and see if there’s anything they can do to make it right and see if the person would reconsider that report, or if that’s not practical, then there is wiggle room where they can give a response that would be a little less detailed than the contractor reports, but they will have the option to tag the report with their feelings about it.
Tristan: Chris says the feedback will help medical providers ensure better service.
Chris: It’s almost unfair to say, “Just tell us the good stuff and don’t tell us anything that went wrong,” to just exclude negatives altogether and say everything is just fine. Contractors on the list say they learn more from reading the negative reports than the positive reports, and giving people the chance to give that feedback benefits everyone to some degree.
Tristan: Austin says that though the reports will contain helpful information, they shouldn’t be your only resource in finding a healthcare provider.
Chris: It’s intended to be a tool where they can educate themselves and get some perspective on, ‘Does this sound like a physician that I might like to use?’ or ‘hey, everyone, here’s a physician I like to use.’ There will be a link library on the web site that provides external resources people can access on a variety of general and specific topics. We want to put that out there for people’s convenience. If you were to get on a search engine and type in a term, you’d get information overload fairly quickly and would find some information that wouldn’t be helpful and might in some cases be the opposite. While we can’t say that these external resources are anything people should rely on to the exclusion of seeking treatment, hopefully they’d be better informed when seeking treatment. It will include links to the AMA and other governing bodies like state medical boards.
Tristan: Though Austin says support has been generally positive, there has been some skepticism from members of the medical community.
Chris: Some of that boils down to the idea of being rated in general. If you send people an email saying, ‘Hey, you’re about to be graded on how you do today!”, that’s going to make most people nervous. And physicians are under a tremendous amount of pressure anyway. Think about how your office is when there are a few people sick, and people are edgy and tired and cranky. Well, that’s a doctor’s office every day. They have to deal with that on a good day. They have to keep up with what’s new in their practices, they haven’t stopped publishing medical journals, along with all these other electronic information resources. And people asking them about what they saw on ER or Nip/Tuck last night. There’s a variety of things that come at them every day that make them a little edgy or worried when you start to question that. But certainly there are doctors who use Angie’s List, and I think if you ask them if they’re in a position to rate services that they’ve used, they would agree that they are, and when you ask, well, should those same people have the opportunity to think about what you do and report on it in an informed manner, should they be able to do so? Some people agree with that and some people shrug.
Tristan: In spite of some skepticism, Austin says the ratings have gone well so far.
Chris: The response has been great. We’ve gotten quite a few reports. Things are still overwhelmingly positive. For the most part, people have been really excited, and there are people who’ve submitted multiple reports. A few people have cried out “Why are you doing this!? This isn’t the List I’ve known and loved all these years!” But certainly the excitement and positive feedback has been the overwhelming response.
Tristan: Austin says the List has received a tremendous response from Angie’s List members participating in the Medical Report Drive.
Chris: In an effort get reports flowing in quickly, we’ve instituted a medical report drive that will include reports that go back to when we launched the medical categories, on march 14th, and the contest is extended to may 16th. Any reports received during that time frame and within the rules — available at the website — will go into a drawing. The grand prize will be for a pair of bikes, in trying to keep the focus on health. We’ll work with the bike shop that suits them. Also, in addition to one lucky person for that, anyone who submits 3 qualifying reports will receive a tee shirt; if they submit 7, they will get a tee as well as Thighmaster Gold. If they submit 12 reports, which could cover a big range of medical options for the household — primary care, eye doctor, dentist, pharmacy — in addition to a tee and Thighmaster, there will also be a 7-inch digital picture frame. Each of those reports also gives you a shot at the grand prize.
Tristan: So far, Austin says the five categories with the most reports have been dentists, primary care providers, OBGYNs, pediatricians, and chiropractors. There are still a few weeks left to enter the contest, but Austin says even after that, there will continue to be other incentives to submit reports in these and the other medical categories.
Chris: Even after the report drive, we want people to keep giving feedback. We’ve come up with ideas that people will be very excited to not only give feedback, but to participate in what we’ve got in store. So be on the lookout!
Tristan: Submit your reports about medical services now, and read other members’ reviews at angieslist.com!
Until next time, this is Tristan. Thanks for taking the time to list-en!
