Blue Cross and Blue Shield partnership with Zagat extends to North Carolina
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
December 31, 2008
A name well-known in the restaurant ratings arena, Zagat, is partnering with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to provide consumers physician ratings, reports The News and Observer. Last year Zagat teamed up with WellPoint last fall to provide similar ratings. WellPoint runs Blue Cross health plans in 14 states.
The physician ratings will be based on a 30-point scale that measures four skill areas, none of which, however, gauge how adept a physician is at treating patients, reports the article. The four criteria are:
- Trust
- Communication
- Availability
- Office environment
That none of these have to do with medical qualities alarms some critics, who say that although consumers deserve to be educated about their health decisions, they also need to be aware of which types of information they pay attention to.
To read the article, click here.
