So Zagats, which is the best known old world ratings guide in the restaurant business, is making a move into health care. And it’s doing it with the biggest blues plan Wellpoint.

So there’s likely to be quite a bit of cynicism about this. After all, why should anyone use a health plan site to rate doctors rather than an independent one, and for that matter is Wellpoint going to let its customers rate it? I can think of a few who won’t rate it so highly!

But beyond the cynicism, it’s clear that some form of ratings is coming fast. And plans might as well get into the game somehow, although given the lack of trust they have in the market, my guess is that an independent ratings company is more likely to succeed. And there are lots of those around. Perhaps the question is whether it’ll be a guide known best for restaurants like Yelp, a general health care site which allows ratings like Revolution or Vimo, or whether a specialist one that just rates doctors like RateMDs or CareSeek.

Quick add: On the panel at Connected Health, Henry DePhillips, ex MedDecision now with Medem says– consumers not going to
rate costs or quality—so that Wellpoint/Zagats are missing the point!