A Guide to Provider Reviews and Ratings Information

Cooley Dickinson Hospital values the partnerships we have with our patients and their loved ones. We are committed to providing you the information you need to make informed decisions about your health care, and about the physicians and other providers you choose to see. As part of that commitment, we transparently share our patients’ feedback about their experiences with our providers and facilities.

To assist you, we’ve developed this guide to help patients, family members and those considering appointments with Cooley Dickinson providers understand how we capture and report our patient experience ratings.

About Our Survey
Cooley Dickinson is focused on providing an exceptional experience in every care interaction. All ratings are submitted by actual patients and verified by a leading company in the patient satisfaction industry. We measure all aspects of patient satisfaction. To ensure that we are holding ourselves to the highest standards, we partner with an independent patient satisfaction company. National Research Corporation (NRC), which provides the technology to display ratings and review comments on our provider profile pages.

Who Receives the Survey?

All patients that see a new provider will be asked to complete the survey via secure email or phone call. If a patient establishes care with a provider, such as a primary care, the patient will receive a request to complete the survey every 6 months. Patients are asked to complete the survey and provide comments regarding specific aspects of care. We use this feedback to improve and enhance the care we offer.

Do You Post All Comments?
Cooley Dickinson is committed to transparency. That means posting all relevant feedback – whether it’s positive or negative. However, we do not post comments that are libelous, profane, or those that risk the privacy of our patients. Every provider rating is published regardless of comment status.

Why Don’t We See Patient Ratings and Comments for Every Provider?
Industry best practice is clear that more data provides a more accurate picture. That’s why we require a minimum of 30 completed patient surveys per provider before we post their rating and review information. Over time, with more surveys received on an ongoing basis, the number of rated physicians will increase. In addition, patients who receive an inpatient service or treatment provided by a group of people as in an emergency department or infusion service are surveyed on their entire experience, not solely their interaction with one provider. Therefore, providers who work in these areas will not have individual ratings.

Can anyone complete a survey or post a comment about a physician?
No. Only patients having an outpatient visit by a Cooley Dickinson provider may be selected to receive a survey. The results are based entirely on responses from patients who have actually been treated by the provider.

How is patient information protected?
Patient names are not displayed through the online ratings and commentary reviews. All personally identifiable information is removed prior to display.

Why are some of the comments so ‘casual’ sounding?
Many surveys are conducted by phone, and the text of answers can reflect spoken responses.