New York's "Most Popular" Doctors
Hear the rumbling of stomachs on Park Avenue this morning? It's coming from the doctors anticipating/dreading the release of New York's "Best Doctors" issue next week. Now in its 11th year, it's one of the magazine's most important issues, not to mention is responsible for raking in a small fortune in advertising for the mag. But it's also one of the more controversial issues, too. This is, after all, the mag that put an analysis of breakfast on the cover last week. And printed a cartoon of Brooklyn blog commenters the week before. Now they're going to tell you who to see for lifesaving cancer surgery?
The list is based on the research of Castle Connolly, a publishing company that produces a collection of health-related books; it was co-founded by Dr. John Connolly (who is not, in fact, a doctor; he has a PhD in education). Each year, the company compiles a guide to the city's 6,000 top doctors based on nominations they send out to thousands of doctors; the New York iteration narrows it down to roughly 1,200 names. Critics often suggest the list (both in general and the one in New York in particular) tends to reward doctors who have outsized public reputations and wide name recognition (or are particularly social), not neccessarily those who are the absolute best at what they do. That means that doctors who spend more of their time smiling on TV and less time doing what doctors are supposed to be doing (yes, we're looking at you, Mehmet Oz) easily gain entry. While Castle Connolly's list is more exhaustive, just how New York goes about slicing the list by two-thirds has never been disclosed. (Most photogenic, perhaps?) And since the vast majority of people rely on the New York list and don't bother buying the full guide from Castle Connolly, it's what ends up in New York that counts.
Doctors and hospitals fret about the list every year since patients take it to heart and pick their physicians based on the results. (Because that's the way to pick someone who is going to take your life into their hands—rely on the same process you use when you're looking for a good place to eat on a Saturday night.) Those who appear in the mag inevitably notice a flood of new patients; docs who were included in previous years and get dropped for whatever reason are forced to explain themselves to their patients. And while the public takes it seriously—and while docs and hospitals are desperate to be included because of the moolah that follows—few in the know take it seriously. As one doc (and blogger) points out:
Do these lists really measure quality? I don't think they do. If there is no vetting of who gets the surveys in the first place, then the results are really just a mish-mash of referral patterns across and between specialties. I've always been surprised at seeing who is on and off Castle-Connolly's list in New York Magazine, since it seems more hit and miss than anything else.
