[Doctor rating sites: which of them find the best doctors in Germany?]

Abstract

Online doctor rating sites have been increasingly discussed in the past few years, but scientific papers on the issue are rare. Results of a recent study could show that online doctor rating sites do not support patients in identifying qualified doctors. Against this background, the German Medical Association and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians have commissioned the German Agency for Quality in Medicine (ÄZQ) with developing quality standards for online doctor rating sites. The list of quality criteria, published in December 2009, contains 40 questions and defines the following main quality standards: data privacy, transparency in terms of operators and funding, a clear and understandable assessment procedure, a strict separation of content and advertisement, measures against defamation, discrimination and deception. At present,all German online doctor rating sites are being assessed according to the list of quality criteria by ÄZQ. The results will be published.