About Our Patient Satisfaction Surveys
Understanding how other patients feel about their experiences at UC Davis Health can help you choose the provider and services that are right for you. We are committed to providing our patients with information to assist with making these decisions.
To do so, we invite feedback from our patients through a survey asking about experiences at UC Davis Health. We publish the results to support our goal of providing transparent information to guide you in making the decision that is best for you.
The star ratings and comments on our physician profile pages come from outpatient surveys conducted by Press Ganey, an independent patient survey company that works with more than 10,000 health care organizations nationwide.
Each year, nearly 60,000 patients who receive care at UC Davis Health respond to our surveys. We use survey responses to improve all aspects of patient care, including quality, safety and experience. NRC Health provides the technology to display ratings and comments on our physician profile pages.
Who Receives a Press Ganey Survey?
Press Ganey emails or mails surveys to patients who received care at UC Davis Health. This process ensures that feedback comes directly from patients who have been treated by our providers.
How are my Ratings and Comments Shared?
The survey is voluntary and confidential. Comments displayed on our website are anonymous. No patient names or contact information will be displayed.
How are Star Ratings for Providers Determined?
Star ratings are based on responses to outpatient survey questions that focus on the provider’s overall care, as well as whether the provider listened carefully, spent enough time with you, showed respect for you, explained things and care instructions in an easy-to-understand way, and seemed to know important information about your medical history.
Press Ganey averages and converts all survey responses, from a rolling 12 months, into a single star rating, with five stars being the highest.
Are all Comments Posted?
We post both positive and negative comments from patient surveys. We do screen the comments to eliminate private patient information, foul language and irrelevant information.
We will also include (publish) comments where another area is mentioned such as: resident-involved care; nursing care; reception; time until appointment; billing/insurance; parking; facilities; etc. The voice of every patient counts, and even when patients speak of areas outside of the direct provider encounter, their feedback nevertheless represents part of their total UC Davis Health experience. However, if there is no evidence of a direct provider encounter, the Transparency Advisory Group will consider suppressing a comment.
Why Doesn’t a Provider Have a Star Rating?
A provider might not have a rating for one of two reasons: he or she does not see patients, or has not received the minimum number of 30 patient survey responses to-date. This minimum ensures that the data is statistically valid.
In the same vein, the text of patient comments will only be shown after a minimum of 5 comments are received, in order to have displayed comments be more representative.