This is from Nat’l Public Radio: 

“Choosing a Doctor in the Digital Age”

by Deirdre Kennedy, Morning Edition, January 24, 2008

Health consumers are increasingly shopping online for doctors through peer-based sites like FindADoc.com, DoctorScorecard.com, and even local city search sites.

Dr. Vail Reese is one of the most highly rated doctors on local San Francisco search engines . . .  Reese says that about half his new patients find him through sites like Yelp, a social networking site that has a section where users can share their experiences about doctors. . .

There’s no doubt that doctors can procure positive reviews from friends, relatives, or even patients. So Victor

[a patient] checked to make sure the reviewers had written about other doctors or topics and weren’t just online to rave about Reese.  Victor ended up giving Dr. Reese a try and writing a favorable review himself.

“My expectations were met and probably exceeded,” he says.

Health insurance companies have been rating the performance of doctors for years, but consumers seem to prefer the opinion of their peers over a company that might ha