AmedNews.com reports on new laws in Colorado which will enable physicians to review and contest health plan rating systems, patients to have standardized and possibly electronic health plan IDs, and insurance companies to develop new types of plans that the state may help consumers purchase.

From iHealthBeat: Nevada’s Board of Medical Examiners has recently added more information on physicians’ malpractice history online.

They have included the names of physicians listed in malpractice cases that ended in a settlement, award or judgment.

iHealthbeat: A new Web site called ZocDoc is enabling patients to make same-day appointments online. The site is part of an ongoing effort to reduce emergency department visits, however it should only be utilized for non-emergencies. There are currently more than 100 physicians listed, including internists and dentists, while many dermatologists will be added this year.

Fierce Healthcare: CIGNA has launched a national web site ranking doctors and hospitals by cost and quality measures. The web site also provides its beneficiaries with additional tools to help them obtain care.

The CIGNA web site names hospitals in specific regions with the lowest death and complication rates. It offers a list of questions patients can ask their doctor in regards to a specific condition. They have also developed a patients tools section to help viewers locate nearby pharmacies with the lowest prices.

More on Press Release:

iHealthBeat: The North Carolina Medical Board is considering a plan to post information on medical malpractice lawsuit settlements on its Web site, starting in 2009.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): released new data reporting options for its voluntary Physician Quality Reporting Initiative in 2008.

ihealthbeat:Illinois Doctor Profile Web Site Includes Malpractice Data

Illinois has recently developed a new Web site that provides consumers with information about physicians in the state. According to the Springfield State Journal, they provide information on any malpractice judgments and out-of-court settlements in the last five years.

The Web site also offers information about physicians':

• Education;
• Felony convictions;

Principles to Guide Physician Performance Reporting: Leading consumer, employer and labor organizations recently announced a comprehensive national agreement with leading physician groups and health insurers. They have developed a guide on how health plans measure a doctors' performance-reporting the information to consumers.

Rating Physicians Online: USA Today has reported several websites that allow consumers to rate physicians. Consumers can fill out surveys or add comments on a doctor. Some of the sites allow physicians to create a profile informing the public of their specialization and experience.

Modern Health Care: The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners is reconsidering a plan to add more information about doctors' records on its Web site.

Drennan "Tony" Clark acknowledged the issue of putting more data on the site has been revived after the hepatitis C outbreak at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. In June, the board is expected to take up the issue.

As previously blogged, starting in April, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee were to make physician quality and cost data available online, incorporating practices such as disclosing how doctors are ranked and providing them a way to appeal incorrect ratings, in line with a model that New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo created last year.

Health Grades, an independent healthcare ratings company, is partnering with Google to make independent information on doctors and hospitals, based on quality and cost, accessible via Google Health – a new product that is currently being pilot-tested with the Cleveland Clinic, reports HealthImaging.com.

Medicare is analyzing the results from the first year of its Physician Quality Reporting Initiative and gearing up to modify the program for 2008, reports Modern Healthcare.

The Niagara Health Quality Coalition has received a federal designation that could allow the group to expand its Western New York and statewide hospital report cards to include care provided by doctor groups, reports Business First of Buffalo.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee customers will soon be able to review doctor's quality of care and costs on a private BCBS members-only Web site.

Physicians will review the data 60 days vefore it is made available to consumers, and will be able to dispute findings.

The report will be based on claims data, although BCBS intends to ask doctors to provide medical record data at some point in the future.