Consumers increasingly are turning to online health care communities to share cost and quality information, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reports.
Interactive health care Web sites, similar to Facebook and MySpace, have existed for some time, but consumers sharing medical cost information online is a new phenomenon.
"It will become more and more of a trend," Patti Smoake, spokesperson for the South Carolina Hospital Association, said, adding, "We're all health care consumers and there is more interest in having more information to help us make the right health care decisions."
One Web site, called Outofpocket.com, features user-generated content. The site -- which is owned by Flying Aces Technology, a technology consulting service and software vendor for the health care industry -- allows users to search and compare prices for health care services.
Similar Web sites that offer medical information and support services include:
- DailyStrength.org;
- PatientsLikeMe.com; and
- RateMDs.com.
In addition, Zagat Survey recently partnered with the health insurer WellPoint to create an online physician rating tool in which patients will share doctor experiences.
Meanwhile, RateMDs.com is working on a formula to add cost information to its Web site. "Many people using insurance don't look very closely at how much is being charged," John Swapceinski, co-founder of RateMDs.com, said, adding, "That's contributing to the rise in health care costs because there isn't a push back from consumers to get lower prices."
Brandi Harper, spokesperson for the South Carolina Medical Association, noted that "Physicians have little to do with determining prices" and urged patients to consider the quality of care (Hughes, Myrtle Beach
Sun News, 11/9).