Looking for an exceptional doctor? If you're like most people, you rely on word of mouth. You can also go online to look up health care providers in your community and find out how they rate.
Before you get started, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- These sites use only patient reviews to rank doctors. This means the ratings are based more on opinion than data showing how well a doctor provided treatment or care.
- Some rating websites may promote doctors who have a paid rather than a free profile.
- If you have questions, ask your health care providers. They can help explain what the rankings may mean -- and what they don't mean.
- Use the information to help you decide. But don't rely on it entirely. Consider what else you know, too.
You’ll want to do some homework, so you know what the ratings mean. Here’s a look at some health care rating websites and how their reviews work. Of these websites, only CMS Care Compare and US News and World Report do not accept advertisements from physicians to be sponsored.
CMS Care Compare (Medicare.gov)
Reviews: Doctors, clinicians, and group practices enrolled in Medicare.
Rating format: Measure-level star ratings (1–5 stars) on select quality measures, shown alongside percent performance scores and checkmarks rather than one overall score.
What you can find: A government-run tool for locating Medicare-enrolled providers near you, filterable by specialty, distance, and whether they're accepting new Medicare patients.
Details you can see: Practice locations, group affiliations, accepted insurance (Medicare-focused), telehealth availability, and procedure volume data.
What the rating is based on: Clinical quality measures reported through CMS's Quality Payment Program, using standardized performance data rather than patient reviews.
What you can do: Search and compare providers, but you cannot leave a personal review — this is objective performance data, not patient testimonials.
Note: Only clinicians who bill Medicare and meet CMS reporting thresholds appear, so it skews toward providers serving Medicare patients and won't include everyone in your area.
US News & World Report (Health / Doctor Finder)
Reviews: Doctors and specialists, with especially strong emphasis on hospital-affiliated specialists.
Rating format: A composite score/ranking drawing on both patient experience surveys and objective clinical performance data, rather than a simple star average.
What you can find: A directory geared toward finding high-performing specialists and hospitals, often used alongside U.S. News ' hospital rankings to find where a given specialist practices.
Details you can see: Hospital affiliations and how those hospitals rank nationally or regionally, board certifications, years in practice, and patient satisfaction scores.
What the rating is based on: A mix of patient experience survey data (often licensed from third parties) and outcome-oriented quality metrics tied to affiliated hospitals.
What you can do: Look up a provider's ranking and hospital affiliation.
Note: Because rankings lean heavily on hospital-level data, the tool is most useful for specialists tied to ranked hospital systems and less complete for independent primary care practices.
HealthGrades.com
Reviews: Doctors, dentists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, psychologists, and other specialists
Rating format: Percentage of patients that recommend the health provider. Each professional is ranked based on the criteria you selected for sorting.
What you can find: A list of primary care and specialists near you that you can sort based on what's most important to you. For instance, you can sort by quality and patient feedback, type of insurance they accept, whether they offer telehealth visits, distance from you, and the doctor's gender.
Details you can see: Directions and maps. How long health professionals have been in practice, their education and training, licensing and certification, how many office locations they have, hospital affiliations, what types of insurance they cover, languages spoken, and whether they are accepting new patients.
What the rating is based on: Online patient satisfaction reviews.
What you can do: You can look up a rating or add a review. You can rate the doctor's staff and wait time. You can also rate how well the doctor listens and explains medical conditions. The site uses a 5-star rating system.
Note: This website takes paid advertisements from providers. Doctors who have paid a fee to the website are listed at the top of your search as “featured."
RateMDs.com
Reviews: Patient ratings for doctors, dentists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, psychologists, and other specialists
Rating format: A scoring system up to 5.
What you can find: A specialist near you, the gender you prefer, one that offers online scheduling and virtual visits, one that's accepting new patients, and one that's rated.
Details you can see: When the doctor was last reviewed, number of ratings, average rating out of 5, educational background, hospital affiliations, languages spoken.
What the rating is based on: Online patient-satisfaction reviews.
What you can do: You can look up a rating or add a review. You can rate the doctor's staff and wait time. You can also rate how helpful and knowledgeable the doctor is. The site uses a 5-point rating system.
Note: This website takes paid advertisements from doctors.
Vitals.com
Reviews: Patient reviews of doctors, dentists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, psychologists, and other specialists
Rating Format: Five-star system including traits like promptness, bedside manner, and follow-up.
What you can find: A doctor or dentist by name, specialty, and condition to see what other patients have said about them. You can also find the doctor's credentials, locations, hospital affiliations, education, whether they are accepting new patients, whether they offer virtual visits, and the insurance they accept.
What the rating is based on: Online patient-satisfaction reviews.
What you can do: You can look up a rating or add a review. You can use the 5-point ranking system to rate the doctor by promptness, accurate diagnosis, bedside manner, and time spent with you.
Note: This website takes paid advertisements from doctors. Doctors who advertise are listed at the top of your search as “featured results”.
