Tuesday, January 31, 2006
More are searching for a doctor by affinity group:
Several Web sites can help consumers find doctors and other health care providers with specified characteristics, including race, religion and sensitivity to sexual orientation.
The sites -- which list physicians who are African American, Christian or "gay- or lesbian-friendly" -- are putting a new spin on affinity-group marketing, a tactic usually associated with insurance or real estate sales.
"We feel that, with so many pressing medical issues for blacks, that we need to make sure that our medical issues are attended to," said Salli Purnell, marketing director for BlackDoctorFinder.com, a Web site based in Norfolk.
Posted by Kevin |
link
| Comments (3)
| 
Comments:
And high time, too. I want a cat-friendly doctor - are there any of those out there? ;)
# posted by 
: 6:41 PM
: 6:41 PM
That's the problem with the free market. While doctors (hopefully) value qulaity care as the top priority, patients are worried about other things (having a doctor that looks like them, is from the same place, or agrees with their lifestyle choices). Some patients are going to make bad choices because they don't know enough medicine and/or they value some things more than their health (if I feel fine, nothing is wrong with me...)
In an emergency, any qualified person will do; for everything else people make choices based on what they think is important.
Sigh - eventually the 4th year of med school will be all about marketing.
In an emergency, any qualified person will do; for everything else people make choices based on what they think is important.
Sigh - eventually the 4th year of med school will be all about marketing.
# posted by : 1:52 AM
: 1:52 AM
Excuse me? "problem with free market"?? people are paying doctors for service; they should get what they want--after all, you should feel comfortable with the people for whom you take off your clothes. If that comfort zone includes same race/gender/religion/zodiac sign, who are you to tell them that it's a "bad choice"?
Further, thanks to the fact that you dirty, rotten monopolist doctors are so resistent to grading and public performance evaluations, it is not as if people can make the best choices about doctors and the "quality of care" they give.
The problem here is that you think you are above marketing. That's the problem--you guys have been too shielded from direct consumer evaluation. One hopes that will change soon.
Post a Comment
Further, thanks to the fact that you dirty, rotten monopolist doctors are so resistent to grading and public performance evaluations, it is not as if people can make the best choices about doctors and the "quality of care" they give.
The problem here is that you think you are above marketing. That's the problem--you guys have been too shielded from direct consumer evaluation. One hopes that will change soon.
# posted by : 9:44 AM
: 9:44 AM
