It's January, and once again Mpls.St.Paul magazine's popular Top Doctors issue has hit the newsstands.
For 17 years, the magazine has had a virtual monopoly on rating doctors in Minnesota, and the issue is a top seller every year, despite some skepticism about the survey's methodology.
Love it or hate it -- and there are plenty of physicians on both sides -- the annual top doctor list is taking on new importance, as more patients shop for medical care. With out-of-pocket costs soaring, hospitals, clinics and insurers are offering price and quality information. But much of the data is dense and not about individual doctors.
That may change soon, with a variety of doctor-rating efforts underway in the health care industry. But for now, the magazine remains the most visible attempt to rate doctors.
Just how influential is it? Ask Dr. Brian Zelickson, a dermatologist who graces this year's cover.
Congratulatory e-mails are flowing in, a couple of regular patients showed up clutching the magazine and the clinic has received a handful of calls from new patients. "If I look at the other degrees and awards and publications I have, being in that magazine probably does more for my visibility in the community than all that combined," Zelickson said between patients at Zel Skin & Laser Specialists in Edina.
The Mpls.St.Paul list breaks out "top" doctors in different specialties, interspersed with snappy profiles. Doctors grouse that the list is subjective and that the methodology is suspect. But they concede that it feeds a growing need.
"People are desperate for information," said Dr. Brian Rank, medical director of HealthPartners.