Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Search
Search:
British doctors could get Internet post reviews: minister
AFP - Tuesday, December 30
LONDON (AFP) - - British patients could soon rate their doctors by posting reviews on an official health service website, Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said in comments published Tuesday.
By being able to read feedback from other patients, people would be better able to decide which doctor they wanted to consult, the junior minister told The Guardian newspaper.
The scheme would take its cue from the way people leave comments and ratings about books and music on Internet retail sites, Bradshaw said.
Posters would be able to leave positive and negative feedback, though the site would be moderated.
However, doctors' representatives voiced concern that it would descend into a meaningless popularity contest rather than providing accurate information about medical skills.
Officials have been told to get the necessary software ready in 2009, The Guardian said.
Since April, the National Health Service's Choices website has allowed people to post comments on hospitals. Bradshaw wants to extend the scheme to family doctors, called general practitioners (GPs).
"On NHS Choices there is already some useful information about whether a practice offers extended hours and how it performs on the quality indicators," Bradshaw said.
"But the quality scores look like the results of an east European election under the Soviet regime. Nearly all get 96 percent, 97 percent or 98 percent.
"That doesn't really give people an idea of whether the practice is better or worse than others in the area.
"I want people to be able to read comments. It may be that people think the GP is fantastic and they can always get an appointment within 48 hours. Or they may have terrible experiences and think the receptionist is really rude."
He added: "I would never think of going on holiday without cross-referencing at least two guide books and using Trip Adviser (a travel review website). We need to do something similar for the modern generation in healthcare.
"I can already learn a lot from the comments of people, both positive and negative, about a type of treatment or a hospital. We need to extend the service to cover GPs."
However, Laurence Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, accused the government of not thinking the plan through properly.
"A website on which people can slander or praise irresponsibly is the wrong approach," he said.
"Patients should be able to choose a doctor, but I don't think this is the way to do it.
"For example, if I don't give antibiotics for a viral infection because I don't think it is appropriate, the word will get out that I am a tough git. But making them happy is not what I am there for. I am there to make them healthy."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Internet Portals & Search Engines
British doctors could get Internet post reviews: ministerAFP - Tuesday, December 30
UrbanBaby.com, a cautionary taleAFP - Sunday, December 28
Wal-Mart to sell iPhone but not at big discountAFP - Saturday, December 27
Facebook cuts ties with Project PlaylistAFP - Thursday, December 25
Related Articles: Technology
British doctors could get Internet post reviews: ministerAFP - Tuesday, December 30
UrbanBaby.com, a cautionary taleAFP - Sunday, December 28
Wal-Mart to sell iPhone but not at big discountAFP - Saturday, December 27
Facebook cuts ties with Project PlaylistAFP - Thursday, December 25
Montenegro bans Facebook, YouTube in public officesAFP - Thursday, December 25
Enlarge Photo
British patients could soon rate their doctors by posting reviews on an official health service website, Health Minister Ben Bradshaw, seen here, said in comments published Tuesday
Related Photos
Slideshow Full Photo Coverage: Internet Portals & Search Engines
Related Full Coverage
Internet Portals & Search Engines
Latest development in the online world
All Full Coverage
Most Popular – Technology
Viewed
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Obama economic plan to cost between 675 and 775 bln: aides
International community piles pressure on Israel
Natural disasters 'killed over 220,000' in 2008
Two thousand and strange: offbeat stories of the year
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular