Advocate Medical Group is dedicated to fostering strong partnerships with our patients and their families. We believe in empowering you with the necessary information to make well-informed decisions about your healthcare journey, especially when choosing the right physicians and providers in areas like family medicine. In line with this commitment to transparency and patient-centered care, we provide online access to our physicians’ patient satisfaction ratings. This guide is designed to help patients, family members, and individuals considering appointments with Advocate Medical Group physicians, particularly in specialties like family medicine in Normal, IL, understand how we collect and report patient experience ratings. We aim to advocate for a healthcare program that prioritizes your needs and provides clear insights into the quality of care you can expect.
How Advocate Medical Group Measures Patient Experience
At Advocate Medical Group, delivering an exceptional patient experience in every interaction is our priority. To ensure we are consistently meeting and exceeding patient expectations, we rigorously measure patient satisfaction through surveys sent to actual patients. These surveys are administered and verified by a leading, independent company specializing in patient satisfaction measurement. This partnership with National Research Corporation, a trusted leader in the field, allows us to utilize their advanced technology to display transparent and reliable ratings and comments directly on our physician profile pages. This commitment to using a third-party ensures objectivity and builds trust in the feedback we share.
Who Participates in the Patient Experience Survey?
To gather authentic and representative feedback, surveys are sent to a randomly selected group of Advocate Medical Group patients following their outpatient appointments. These patients are invited to share their experiences and provide comments about the care they received. This direct patient feedback is invaluable. It not only allows us to recognize the exceptional work of our healthcare teams but also provides crucial insights into areas where we can further enhance and improve the care we offer within our health care program, including specialties like family medicine in Normal, IL.
Transparency in Feedback: What Comments Are Posted?
Advocate Medical Group firmly believes in transparency. This commitment means we strive to post all relevant patient feedback, encompassing both positive and constructive comments. We understand that a balanced view is essential for patients making informed decisions. However, to protect individuals and maintain ethical standards, we do have moderation guidelines. We do not publish comments that are libelous, profane, or that could potentially compromise the privacy and personal information of our patients. Importantly, every provider rating is published, regardless of the status or content of the comments, ensuring that quantitative data is always available.
Understanding Star Ratings: How Are They Calculated?
Our star ratings are designed to provide a quick, visual summary of patient satisfaction. These ratings are carefully calculated based on patient responses to key questions within the patient experience survey. Specifically, the star ratings reflect patient feedback on the following crucial aspects of their interaction with care providers:
- Active Listening: “Did the care providers listen carefully to you?” This question assesses the patient’s perception of being heard and understood.
- Clear Communication: “Did the care providers explain things in a way you could understand?” This evaluates the effectiveness of communication and clarity of medical information provided.
- Likelihood to Recommend: “How likely would you be to recommend this provider to your family and friends?” This is a powerful indicator of overall satisfaction and trust in the provider and the care received.
The responses to these questions are aggregated to generate the overall star rating you see on physician profiles.
Why Aren’t Ratings Available for Every Doctor?
In line with industry best practices and statistical validity, we understand that a larger dataset provides a more reliable and accurate representation of patient experiences. To ensure the star ratings are meaningful and trustworthy, we require a minimum of 30 completed patient surveys per doctor before we publish a physician’s rating online. This threshold ensures that the rating is based on a sufficient volume of feedback. As we continuously collect more survey responses, the number of physicians with published ratings will naturally increase over time, offering a more comprehensive view of our providers in specialties like family medicine in Normal, IL. A physician’s rating will become visible on their profile as soon as they meet this minimum requirement of 30 completed surveys.
Authenticity of Feedback: Who Can Complete a Survey?
To maintain the integrity and authenticity of our patient feedback system, only patients who have had an outpatient visit with an Advocate Medical Group physician are eligible to be randomly selected to receive a survey. This ensures that the ratings and comments you see are based solely on the experiences of actual patients who have been directly treated by the physician. This policy prevents external or non-patient feedback from influencing the ratings, keeping them a genuine reflection of patient experiences within our health care program.
Patient Privacy: How is Personal Information Protected?
Protecting patient privacy is paramount at Advocate Medical Group. We are committed to ensuring that patient names and other personally identifiable information are never displayed in conjunction with online ratings or commentary reviews. Before any feedback is published, all personally identifiable information is meticulously removed. This rigorous process ensures that patient confidentiality is maintained while still providing valuable and transparent insights into patient experiences with our physicians and health care program, including family medicine services in Normal, IL.
