This document discusses the new era of transparency in medicine, including more physician rating websites, required disclosures of financial relationships between doctors and drug/device companies, and increased availability of health data from government programs. It notes that about 1 in 6 doctors had online reviews by 2010, which were generally positive, and that board-certified doctors and those from highly-rated schools received slightly better ratings. The document also describes ProPublica's "Dollars for Docs" project to make payments from companies to physicians public, as well as the federal "Physician Compare" website which allows users to search for doctors and see performance data and other information.

1. MEDICINE’S NEW ERA OF
TRANSPARENCY
And what it means for doctors
Charles Ornstein
ProPublica

2. Disclaimer

3. Ah, the good old days

4. Brave new world

5. What does this mean for you?
• More physician ratings websites
• Disclosures of financial relationships with
drug and medical device companies
• Data released by federal and state health
programs

6. What does this mean for you?
• More physician ratings websites
• Disclosures of financial relationships with
drug and medical device companies
• Data released by federal and state health
programs

7. Physician ratings

8. Should you be worried?
Two years ago, Dennis Laurion logged on to a rate-your-doctor website
to vent about a Duluth neurologist, Dr. David McKee.
McKee had examined Laurion's father, Kenneth, when he was
hospitalized after a stroke. The family, Laurion wrote, wasn't happy with his
bedside manner. "When I mentioned Dr. McKee's name to a friend who is a
nurse, she said, 'Dr. McKee is a real tool!'" he wrote.
McKee wasn't amused. He sued Laurion for defamation, and now the
case is pending before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

9. What the research says
Results: We estimate that 1 in 6 practicing US physicians received an
online review by January 2010. Obstetrician/gynecologists
were twice as likely to be rated (P < .001) as other physicians. Online
reviews were generally quite positive (mean 3.93 on a scale
of 1 to 5). Based on the Virginia physician population, long-time graduates
were more likely to be rated, while physicians who
graduated in recent years received higher average ratings (P < .001).
Patients gave slightly higher ratings to board-certified
physicians (P = .04), those who graduated from highly rated medical
schools (P = .002), and those without malpractice claims
(P = .1).

10. Why we trust doctors?

11. What does this mean for you?
• More physician ratings websites
• Disclosures of financial relationships with
drug and medical device companies
• Data released by federal and state health
programs

12. Disclosure of financial relationships

13. What we did: Dollars for Docs

14. A new world of disclosure

15. Data in service of stories

16. What you can find

17. Data in your waiting room

18. What does this mean for you?
• More physician ratings websites
• Disclosures of financial relationships with
drug and medical device companies
• Data released by federal and state health
programs

19. Physician Compare

20. Is the information correct?

21. Pay on the line

22. How do you compare?

23. Can’t turn back the clock
The past The future

24. Keep the conversation going
• Twitter: @charlesornstein
• Web: www.propublica.org
• Email: charles.ornstein@propublica.org
• Phone: 917-512-0222