Our commitment

At Penn State Health, we are committed to providing an exceptional experience to every patient, every time. As part of that commitment, we now post our physicians’ patient satisfaction ratings online. All ratings are submitted by actual patients and verified by a leading company in the patient satisfaction industry.

How ratings are obtained

The ratings and reviews seen on provider profiles are gathered from patient surveys conducted by an independent patient satisfaction organization, NRC Health. This trusted vendor is used by many healthcare providers throughout the U.S., and ensures the information we provide is not biased.

Surveys are distributed to patients who visit a Hershey Medical Center physician in an outpatient clinic. A request to complete the survey is sent to every patient. via e-mail, interactive voice response technology or text message within 24 hours of the visit.

Each year, we receive feedback from more than 110,000 patients.

Star Ratings

A provider’s star rating is based on patient responses to the overall provider rating of care and the provider communication composite consisting of the following questions.

1. During your most recent visit, did this provider explain things in a way that was easy to understand?
2. During your most recent visit, did this provider listen carefully to you?
3. Did this provider show respect for what you had to say?
4. During your most recent visit, did this provider spend enough time with you?
5. Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?

A response to each question is required for a survey ‘complete’.

Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers.

Why don’t we see patient ratings for every doctor?

Star ratings are only displayed for providers who have accumulated 30 or more completed survey responses during an 18-month period. This ensures the data we provide is statistically valid.