The medical specialist and quality standards: a plea for realism in an era of visible care

The outcome of medical practice is subject of growing interest. New media offer opportunities to search for specialists who offer the best treatment outcome. This information could stimulate competition in a positive manner, but it also increases the vulnerability of medical specialists. From this perspective, treatment outcome statistics should be presented realistically. Early cohort studies usually overestimate chances of success. The medical community should focus on the outcome of national registries or multicentre randomized studies when presenting reasonable outcome perspectives for their patients.