DrScore.com Recognizes ‘America’s Most Loved’ Doctor

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb 10, 2009 -
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Feb. 10, 2009)  – A pediatric orthopedic surgeon in the Deep South will celebrate this Valentine’s Day as “America’s Most Loved” doctor. DrScore.com, the online patient satisfaction survey and physician rating Web site, has named Craig Robbins, M.D., with Pediatric Orthopaedic Specialists of Mississippi in Jackson, 2009’s Doctor of the Year.

“Dr. Robbins’ patients love him,” said patient satisfaction expert Steve Feldman M.D., DrScore’s founder. “He has more than 160 patient ratings through our site, and his average score is a 9.8 out of 10. In the survey’s comments section, patients wrote about his great personality, how attentive he is to children and how wonderful he is at explaining medical facts.

“Dr.Robbins’ patients gave him a wonderful gift: their feedback,” Dr. Feldman continued. “So this Valentine’s Day, DrScore wants everyone to give their doctor that same gift by visiting DrScore.com. Whether your feedback is positive or negative, your doctor will appreciate it because it will help him or her improve patient care.”

Dr. Robbins attended the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Fla., and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Tulane University in New Orleans. In addition, he completed a fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tenn., and a mini-fellowship at the International Center for Limb Lengthening in Baltimore, Md.

“Communication with my patients often poses a challenge — there’s a delicate balance between the child's understanding and insight and that of the adults in the family,” said Dr. Robbins, a board-certified member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which has encouraged its membership to improve physician-patient communication and monitor practice evaluations by consumers. “Patient surveys provide real-time, pertinent, and specific feedback about my personal performance as a physician. Physicians who are able to monitor on an individual basis, such as with Dr.Score.com, receive timely appraisals of their practice and communication style. My associate and I have found the quarterly feedback reports very helpful to see what kind of care we are providing to our patients.”

To date, more than 66,000 patients have completed DrScore online surveys in which they answer questions on everything from signage in the parking lot and friendliness of the receptionist to how long they waited and how much time the physician spent with them. Nearly 1,000 physicians have signed up with DrScore to receive detailed reports they use to make improvements to their practices and increase their patients’satisfaction.

Increasing patient satisfaction is important because it directly links to quality of care issues such as following doctors’ orders and taking the prescribed medications, factors which ultimately lead to better outcomes. “All of our research has found that a good bedside manner and spending quality time with the patient is a critical component in patient satisfaction,” Dr. Feldman said. “Patients who are happy with their physicians are more comfortable going to their doctor when they have a problem. And they are also more likely to follow doctors’ orders and take the prescribed medications, which leads to overall lower health care costs.”

To be considered for Doctor of the Year, the doctors had to have at least 100 ratings on the DrScore site. Runners up were:
•   Beth Santmyire-Rosenberger, M.D., with Appalachian Spring Dermatology in Fairmont, W.V.
•   Mark Zalla, M.D., with Dermatology Associates of Northern Kentucky in
Florence, Ky.
•   Mitch Freeman, M.D., with Freeman Family Practice in Yuma, Ariz.
•   Allen Huffman, M.D., with Sport and Spine Rehab in Landover, Md.
•   John Mersch, M.D., with Southern Orange County Pediatric Associates in
Ladera Ranch, Calif.