Finding and Evaluating Doctors & Hospitals

Wisconsin Resources

DrConnection
From the Wisconsin Medical Society. Locate and find information about physicians in Wisconsin.

Madison Magazine: Top Docs 08
Biannual list of "top doctors" in Dane county. Previous lists: Top Docs 06 & Top Docs 04. From Best Doctors, Inc.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Finding and Choosing Health Care Providers in Wisconsin
Resources to locate and choose a health care provider in Wisconsin, plus many other helpful topics.

Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing
The authoritative site to verify if a healthcare professional is licensed to practice in Wisconsin, file or view complaints as well as see the reports of court decisions.

Nationwide Licensing Resources

American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
Online certification verification for medical specialists. Free registration is required. Also available in print at Ebling Library; print version offers more detailed profiles.

DocFinder
Contains the licensing background and disciplinary information of physicians. The only combined public online physician database in the nation that pulls data directly from state government licensing boards.

Medicare Participating Physicians Directory
Lists physicians in the specialty and geographic area you specify, along with detailed physician profiles, maps and driving directions.

MedlinePlus Doctor and Dentist Directory
Sites that will help you find doctors and dentists; both generalists and specialists are included.

Wisconsin Resources

CheckPoint
Gives a snapshot of Wisconsin hospitals' performance in key areas. Compare hospitals to each other or to a national benchmark in areas such as patient safety, infection prevention, proper use of antibiotics, etc.

PricePoint
Covering both inpatient and outpatient services, PricePoint provides facility-specific information about services and charges, e.g. how much hospital X charges to remove tonsils.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services: Finding and Choosing a Hospital
Provides resources to locate and choose a hospital in Wisconsin.

Nationwide Resources

U.S News & World Report: America's Best Hospitals
Updated annually, 17 specialties (e.g., cancer, rheumatology, psychiatry) are ranked, as well as an overall "honor roll" ranking. Also searchable by an A-Z listing. Details are provided on their methodology used for ranking hospitals.

Health Grades, Inc.
Provides free access to hospital ratings by procedures. Offers physician directory and physician ratings for a fee.

Hospital Compare
Provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), compares quality of care of hospitals nationwide.

Leapfrog Group
Free hospital comparisons on safety and quality. Leapfrog group asks hospitals to complete a survey of 30 safety practices which in turn gives hospitals a safety score; participation by hospitals is voluntary.

MedlinePlus: Find a Hospital
Search for a hospital from the American Hospital Association, licensed by the National Library of Medicine.

All print resources are available at Ebling Library. Click on titles for MadCat holdings.

Doctors

America's Top Doctors
A guide to America's top specialists in over 60 medical specialties and subspecialties.

America's Top Doctors for Cancer
Identifies America's leading cancer specialists. Also contains information on cancer treatment centers.

Consumer's Guide to Top Doctors
20,000 top-rated physicians in America's 50 largest metropolitan areas plus others. Includes doctors most highly recommended by their peers, details on training, credentials, office locations, etc.

Directory of Physicians in the United States
Alphabetical index of physicians and geographical register of physicians produced by the American Medical Association.

The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists
Certification verification for medical specialists. Includes professional and biographical information, type of specialty, subspecialty, years of certification, sub-certification, re-certification and time-limited certification if applicable. Also available as an abridged edition online.

Hospitals

AHA Guide to the Health Care Field
A guide to United States hospitals, health care systems, networks, alliances, health organizations, agencies and providers.

Doctors

Rating Your Doctor, Fairly. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Dec 8, 2007.

Insurers' Lists On Doctors Under Fire; Physicians, Critics Claim Rankings Focus More on Costs. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Aug 21, 2007.

Five ways to find Dr. Right, CNN 2008

Hospitals

Hospital report cards: Making the grade. (2004). Harvard Health Letter 29(8), 1-2.