If patient-centered care is ever going to take hold in health care, we're going to need some tools to help people figure out which doctors, hospitals and clinics are doing the best jobs at the lowest prices.

Fortunately some tools are being developed. One is Angie's List, which is expanding its "tell your neighbors" approach from lawn care services to health care.

Meanwhile Medica has developed Main Street Medica, which lets you rank physicians, clinics, and hospitals by price, number of patients seen, and other criteria.

It's far from perfect, but it's a good start.