HealthGrades, a website for patients researching and selecting physicians, announced Wednesday the launch of a new Web-based tool that empowers physicians and practice administrators to take control of their online reputation.

The free, secure Web application encourages ongoing physician engagement to verify and modify the information HealthGrades makes public in more than 750,000 online physician profiles. The HealthGrades Physician & Provider Portal is being officially unveiled at this week’s American Medical Group Association (AMGA) annual conference in Washington D.C.

“As a physician, I understand the professional challenge doctors face in managing online information,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades vice president, accelerated clinical excellence. “But public reporting is here to stay and will likely only increase in scope. It is time physicians leveraged the power of the Web to benefit their patients and their practice. As the most heavily trafficked physician search site, HealthGrades is uniquely positioned to help.”

HealthGrades’ enhanced Portal is designed to enable physicians to take control of their online reputation, offering them the opportunity to respond publicly to patient satisfaction ratings, and assisting doctors in actively attracting the most appropriate patients. For example, adding customized and detailed information about medical areas of expertise, and a brief description of practice style helps patients better match with the right physician who meets their specific needs and expectations.

Recent research has shown that the physician-patient relationship is strengthened when patients see themselves as similar to their physicians in personal beliefs, values, and communication, ultimately leading to better diagnoses and improved health outcomes.

HealthGrades is the most highly trafficked physician search site and helps 100 million patient visitors a year – more than all other provider ratings sites combined. Patients search more than 12 million HealthGrades physician profiles monthly and HealthGrades' web properties are recognized by comScore as one of the top five health information destinations.

Updates to doctors’ online profiles are shared across numerous online consumer web properties through relationships with Google, Bing and other health content distributors.

HealthGrades’ new, free physician Portal offers physicians:

• The ability to edit existing information and enhance their profile with a photo or video; custom description of practice philosophy, specific areas of research or interest,  procedures performed, conditions treated, and hospital affiliations
• The option to respond publicly to patient satisfaction survey results
• Tools to help practices collect more patient experience feedback
• Customized reports about profile activity, including patient satisfaction and patient search volume with peer comparisons.