Surgeon Selection

[CHRIS WBS]

For those of you who may be struggling with choosing the right surgeon, here are a couple of websites that may help with your decision. These were mentioned in today's Wall Street Journal in a special health report titled "How to Find a Good Doctor."

www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
This is a free website that ranks hospitals on quality measures.

www.checkbook.org
This website costs $25 for a two-year online membership. It lists the best doctors by practice who were most often mentioned in peer surveys.

I spent the $25 to find out that only one of the three Chicago surgeons I have consulted made the list. I then compared the hospital he is associated with to the other two that the other two surgeons work at. It clearly led the other two hospitals in every category.

Chris

[ParrotOtis]

Did you think the checkbook.org site was worth $25? I saw the article about that website in yesterday's Chicago Tribune and I was considering joining. I'm not sure I would get my money's worth though.

[CHRIS WBS]

Save yourself $25. If you can get Dr. Schafer to do your surgery, you are in good hands. And Northwestern Memorial Hospital beats Rush and UCH by a landslide. Neither came as a surprise to me. Good luck.

Chris

[ParrotOtis]

Thanks! My appointment with Dr Schafer is on Monday. It's nice to hear that others speak highly of him and Northwestern.

[marthak]

I have another thought on getting your due diligence research done regarding surgery.

Some insurance companies provide this new tool for comparing hospitals regarding a specific surgical procedure. I was able to compare Children's Hospital Oakland with Lucille Packard Stanford (for Children) on spinal fusion surgery for scoiliosis. Isn't that cool! They listed how many patients a year get that surgery at that hospital, what the main complications were with that surgery and the percentage of patients who got that complication, the mortality rate (none), and the average length of hopital stay. Then I called my doctor's office back and found out why the tougher complications occured, which gave me a better idea of the risk for my child and some info on how to help her improve her chances. Plus I know more, which makes me feel like I am doing something in a situation that feels pretty darn scary.

- MArtha K