The Best Doctors database was originally developed to empower other patients through medical information. Today, Best Doctors is the leading medical company helping people around the world find the doctors they need, when they need them.

One hundred and four doctors from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center were selected for the Best Doctors' database list this year. Of 30,000 doctors in the country, about 4 percent make the Best Doctors list.

Other medical databases include over 100,000 doctors, 15 percent of America's total, which is no more selective than the yellow pages.

Since the Best Doctors list was first compiled in 1992, around 100 Hershey Medical Center doctors have consistently been selected in the every-other-year nominations. There are about 450 doctors at the center.

"In a place with a big medical center, with doctors known nationally and internationally, you have some of the best doctors in the country," Lucy Stec, director of research at Best Doctors, said.

Offers of $50 million from the Hershey Medical Center and $21.3 million from the U.S. Public Health Service in 1963 allowed Penn State to build a medical school that trains more than 360 resident physicians annually.

"Currently, the Penn State College of Medicine is funded in part by an 'academic support payment' generated by revenue from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the professional earnings of the clinical faculty," said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael R. Weitekamp.

"It is approximately $20 million annually. Many of our faculty perform research and provide patient care at Penn State and in facilities in Centre County."

A significant number of the doctors chosen for Best Doctors either graduated from the Penn State College of Medicine or were trained at the Hershey Medical Center, Weitekamp added.

These doctors are honored to be selected as Best Doctors, a process during which at least 30,000 professional and esteemed doctors already in the database survey and review their colleagues. Doctors are not guaranteed a returning spot in the database; rather, they must be reselected every other year. A low turnover rate of 11 percent reflects the number of doctors retiring, becoming pharmacists or passing away. Old doctors can nominate new doctors to join the list.

Best Doctors knows that the public tends to believe that all doctors are equal. This is a faith-encouraging strategy and usually an excuse for people to continue receiving care from the closest, most convenient and friendliest doctor.

According to the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry in 1998, "Exhaustive research documents the fact that today, in America, there is no guarantee that any individual will receive high-quality care for any particular health problem."

Medical errors cause the deaths of between 44,000 and 98,000 people per year, according to the Best Doctors Web site (www.bestdoctors.com).

Best Doctors knows that people spend more time choosing their teachers, mechanics and hairdressers than their doctors because of their belief that all doctors are the same.

In defense, Best Doctors offers the reality that some doctors are good, some are bad, some are indifferent and others are simply the best.

Best Doctors links patients with outstanding doctors for a $35 yearly subscription fee. Plus, they have physicians in over 1,500 communities in all 50 states. To ensure the quality of their doctors, Best Doctors does not allow anyone to pay to join the database, and doctors are selected instead of hospitals as a whole.

This careful selection lessens the struggle of finding the correct doctor for sick patients.

"I know from personal experience with the database that it works," Stec said. "If the first doctor I go to is really superb at what he does, then I don't have to waste time. There is no wasting money or time while you are sick."

Weitekamp said he feels honored and fortunate to be recognized as a best doctor who can help patients quicken their recoveries.

All of the 1,908 Pennsylvania physicians selected for Best Doctors are certified through the American Board of Medical Specialties.

However, other physicians not recognized by Best Doctors also can hold these certifications.

"Some people get upset if their doctor is not on the list. It only includes the top 4 percent, which is tiny," Stec said. "Other doctors not on the list can be really good."