February 17, 2017
New Research Examines Patients’ Satisfaction With Their Radiologists
AJR study used national patient ratings website to assess performance of U.S. radiologists in patient satisfaction
Reston, VA – New research reports that most U.S. radiologists receive favorable satisfaction scores from their patients. The study, supported by research grants from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, is published online in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).
“Studying www.RateMDs.com reviews for 1,891 radiologists across 297 cities with a population greater than 100,000, we found that patient responses tended to be either strongly positive or strongly negative,” said Luke Ginocchio, MD, lead study author and an incoming resident in the department of radiology at New York University Langone Medical Center.
The patient reviews included rating scores of one through five, with five being the highest, in four categories (staff, punctuality, knowledge and helpfulness). They found that in all four categories, the most common score was five and second most common was one. Scores of two through four were far less frequent, and radiologists in the Northeast scored significantly lower than radiologists elsewhere for both staff and punctuality.
“In the current era of patient-centered care, patient satisfaction is emerging as an increasingly important metric in the evaluation of health care organizations and providers,” noted Richard Duszak, MD, FACR, professor and vice chair for health policy and practice in the department of radiology and imaging sciences at Emory University and affiliate senior research fellow at the Neiman Institute. “A majority of the U.S. public now uses the internet to obtain information related to their health care.”
While only a minority of radiologists in the studied cities were rated, most radiologists who were reviewed received favorable satisfaction scores from their patients. However, online reviews tended to reflect either strongly positive or strongly negative opinions. In addition, scores across categories were highly correlated, suggesting a halo effect influencing patients’ global perceptions of radiologists.
“Patients usually don’t have neutral opinions about their radiologists. The message here is an important one: when we make an impression, either good or bad, patients will react accordingly,” added Duszak.
To obtain a copy of the AJR study or to arrange an interview with a Neiman Institute spokesperson, contact Nicole Racadag at (703) 716-7559 or nracadag@neimanhpi.org.
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About the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute
The Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute is one of the nation’s leading medical imaging socioeconomic research organizations. The Neiman Institute studies the role and value of radiology and radiologists in evolving health care delivery and payment systems and the impact of medical imaging on the cost, quality, safety and efficiency of health care. Visit us at www.neimanhpi.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.