Angie's List to begin rating physicians and other health care professionals

Angie's List, the national online service that lets subscribers rate contractors, plumbers, and others, will soon begin allowing people to also rate their health care experiences. (Source: "Angie's List to rate doctors, other medical practitioners," Plain Dealer, March 27, 2008.) The ratings will include "other patients' reviews of family doctors, surgeons, neurologists, cardiologists, plastic surgeons and more. Also on the list: chiropractors, dentists, pharmacists, nursing homes, urgent care centers and hospitals." Among the specific areas physicians and others will be rated on is office cleanliness, wait times and how well they listen.

Angie Hicks, who founded Angie's List in Ohio a number of years ago, is quoted in the Plain Dealer article as saying "This is probably one of the more common things customers have been asking us for over the years." The new rating system is expected to be operational in about a month.