Brownbook vs Healthgrades

Brownbook is a global business listing directory where people can add listings, update details, and review businesses. Owners can claim listings to verify information and take control, enrich profiles with text, photos, and videos, and receive alerts about reviews. Brownbook also offers BLINX, a mobile-optimised business bio page with a short URL and QR code. The free business listing costs nothing. For bulk listing work, the Publisher API supports searching, inserting, editing, and deleting listings; it costs $0.10 a month, billed per listing per month, and requires a signed API agreement and an authorized OAuth key or token. Commercial users may not submit more than five listings for gain unless using the authorized API under a commercial agreement. Brownbook says listings can support search visibility and attract customers. The service is available on the web and through an API, and offers help pages and an email contact form.

Healthgrades helps people find doctors and hospitals, review provider information and arrange appointments. Doctor searches can be narrowed by insurance, distance, availability, patient reviews, gender, age and specialty. Users with an account can save doctors and request or book online appointments for featured doctors. The service is available on Android, iOS and the web, and also offers articles, appointment guides, slideshows, videos and quizzes about conditions and procedures. Healthgrades says its profiles feature more than 10 million patient ratings, with reviews confirmed and audited before publication. Each provider listed in the National Provider Identifier Registry has a free profile that providers can claim and add details to. Hospitals and medical groups can pay to promote provider profiles, which are marked sponsored. The free consumer service is advertiser supported. Providers can subscribe to an Elevated Profile for $49.95 a month; that subscription renews automatically until canceled. Healthgrades Choice considers experience, hospital quality, patient satisfaction and medical sanctions, and providers cannot pay for or influence the designation. Patient Favorite has separate rating, review, licensing and sanctions requirements.