AOK plus grades for doctors

AOK plus: School grades for physicians: From January 2011, patients can rate their doctors.

(08.09.2010) The Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse AOK plus launches a new assessment portal for specialists and family physicians. On this portal insured persons of the AOK can evaluate the last physician visit. With this, the AOK wants to make it easier for the insured to choose the family doctor or specialist. AOK members can rate grades for the waiting period, doctor's treatment, appointment, doctor's office status and the work of the medical assistants. The Kassenärtzliche Vereinigung and the Unabhängiger Patientsberatung welcome the evaluation campaign, however, both associations indicate that the evaluations are based on subjective criteria by the patients.

The AOK plus, which was formed from the AOK cash registers Thuringia and Saxony, wants to offer a new physician assessment portal in the Internet. From January 2011, patients will be able to assess their last visit to the GP or consult a specialist. Insured persons can award so-called school grades. Censorship is awarded based on a questionnaire. Thus, AOK members can evaluate the practice setup, waiting times, appointments, treatment quality of the physician as well as the competence of the medical assistants. The health insurance aims to provide patients with a better overview and to facilitate the future doctor's choice. Other insured persons can compare the already made assessments and have thus a better orientation assistance.

Already at the beginning of the year, other AOK health insurance companies had started a similar pilot project. For example, there are similar doctor rating portals for AOK insured persons in Hamburg, Berlin and Thuringia. Also a so-called hospital navigator should help to find the suitable clinic. But the response was not as unusual as the AOK had hoped. The acceptance of the offer fell far short of expectations. Nevertheless, the AOK plans to expand the online evaluation campaign for physicians nationwide. When such a nationwide start doctors rating portal, is still unknown. At the beginning of the year, it had been announced that such a project would start in the fall of this year. Apparently, the patient's weak resonance prevents an expansion of supply. However, only insured persons of the AOK can take advantage of the evaluation offer. Whether other health insurance plans such an offer is unknown.

Meanwhile, Independent Patient Counseling and the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Saxony welcomed the online evaluation of doctors and also support this action. In addition to the positive aspects, however, are also seen negative. Thus it is not excluded that insured persons make the evaluations of the doctors after purely subjective yardsticks. Ulrike Dzengel of Independent Patient Counseling said: "There can be no reliable statements here". Because such reviews are very subjective and therefore unfortunately too inaccurate. Only on the basis of their own experience, each rating also have a subjective perspective, as it was called. In addition, many patients, especially in rural areas do not have a large selection of doctors. Nevertheless, such a portal could help to make the work of doctors more transparent.

The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Leipzig also welcomed such a portal. Here, however, one sees the danger that, above all, dissatisfied patients tend to make an assessment. Also, a school grading system is not particularly suitable. So said the chairman of the board of the Saxon Kassenärztliche Vereinigung, Klaus Heckemann, especially dissatisfied patients make such an offer true. This could lead to a consumptive evaluation of doctors. Another problem could crop up, for example, doctors with the best ratings could experience a rush of crowds, which is hard to cope with in everyday life.

According to the AOK Plus, a total of two million AOK plus insured persons in Saxony are invited to participate. It is to be hoped that a large number of patients will participate as well. On the Internet, there are numerous well-known review portals, where, for example, vacation travel can be evaluated. These portals are very popular and have partially improved the service of individual providers. It could be similar to a doctor review portal. By awarding grades, the work of doctors could be effectively improved. Because even bad grades can be improved by good ratings again. Thus, doctors could be encouraged to significantly improve their work. However, according to the AOK, this should not be the case. One disputes the opinion, with such a rating portal it would be about one „Medic TÜV“. It is only intended to help patients find a doctor. But the above points should still play a role.

Insured persons can evaluate individual criteria in the evaluation portal. Here, school grades are awarded. To evaluate are u.a. How long did it take to get an appointment, what was the equipment and general condition of the practice, how much time did the doctor take for the patient and what was the overall patient consultation. In addition, the work and competence of the practice employees should be assessable. And finally, the waiting time should be graded. The insured persons have the possibility to award grades between one (best grade) and six (completely insufficient).

It remains to be seen how such a grading portal will be accepted by the insured and how doctors will respond to it. We will therefore continue to report. (Sb)