Until recently, patients whose doctors kept them waiting for hours without explanation, brushed off their questions or seemed downright incompetent had little recourse, other than complaining to family, friends or, in egregious cases, the state medical board. That was before the Internet gave everyone with an e-mail address the ability to reach a vastly wider audience by posting -- often anonymously -- critiques of doctors, in much the same way travelers rate hotels on such Web sites as TripAdvisor.
In the past five years more than 40 Web sites, among them RateMDs.com, Angie's List, Yelp, DrScore and Vitals.com (motto: "where doctors are examined"), have begun reviewing physicians, providing information about one of the more difficult and important decisions consumers make routinely. As these sites proliferate -- a reflection of the hunger for information about doctors in an era where patients are expected to make sophisticated decisions about their care -- questions about their usefulness, accuracy and fairness are intensifying. In some cases the freewheeling anonymity of the Internet has collided with the rights of physicians who are constrained by laws that protect patient privacy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072002335.html
You when I was looking for an RD I used one of those web sites. I acually found it quite helpful and am so pleased the RD I chose based on the onfo I found there . Maybe the sites aren't 100% perfect but I do think in many instances they do serve a useful purpose.
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