It’s going to surprise exactly nobody that the organizations that help sell plaques to physicians might just be in it for the money, but I still have to tip my hat to ABC News for investigating the living daylights out of several such outfits.
The typical business model seems to be “shamelessly flatter any doctor whose contact information you can get your hands on, then refer them to your affiliated plaque salesman. Profit, rinse, repeat.” Nevertheless some doctors and consumers seem to take them seriously, with hospitals pushing their doctors to get listed, and physicians trumpeting their listings on websites and in press releases. Following their lead, ABC treated the listings just as seriously, going so far as to match them with databases of disciplined doctors. They found plenty of matches, including a few examples that were downright spectacular.
Dr. Conrad Murray, convicted of manslaughter for administering a lethal overdose of the anesthetic propofol to Michael Jackson in 2009, is still listed as a “Top Cardiologist,” according to the Consumers’ Research Council of America.
A “Top Pediatrician” according to the Consumers’ Research Council of America is also a convicted serial child rapist charged with the molestation of 103 children. Dr. Earl Bradley is currently serving 14 life sentences in addition to a 160-year prison term, yet he remains on the Consumers’ Research Council of America “Top Pediatrician” list.
Beyond the headline-grabbing details, the reporters go to great lengths to explain the company’s business models and their screening procedures, or lack thereof. My personal favorite was a website, TopDocs.com, whose CEO says he has enticed “a couple of hundred” doctors to pay from $1,500 to $10,000 for a listing, not including the $1,600 annual fee. Yet, the ABC crew writes, “In reference to the actual name ‘TopDocs.com,’ (the CEO) told ABC News, ‘We are not inferring in any way that the doctors in the site are top doctors.’”
