CMS has released a new resource:æ Physician Compare.æ It is required by the Affordable Care Act.
The Physician Compare website is designed to people locate health professionals in their communities.æ
By simply choosing a zip code and specialty, the website provides contact information for offices, whether the professional speaks a language other than English, and the professionaläó»s gender and educational background.æ The tool can also help Medicare beneficiaries identify which physicians participate in the Medicare program.
Other than being a physician locator, it does nothing as yet to address physician quality. That will come I am sure. In the meantime the closest you get to physician quality is by perusing the subjective rate a physician sites that have popped up or going to Health Grades where you can find a bit more information such as all insurances accepted and the results of patient satisfaction surveys. Still subjective but at least provides a bit more information to help you make a decision.