Technology scores resident satisfaction with physician care

How satisfied are residents with the care they receive from their physician? With the boom in social media and online research, a physician's reputation can hinge on what patients and residents think and what they post about that care online.

Atlanta-based Digital Assent, a provider of real-time patient satisfaction surveys, launched in 2011 its PatientPad platform for plastic and cosmetic surgeons. Now it is expanding its market to include orthopedic surgeons and will soon include other specialties as well.

As reportedly the healthcare industry's first in-office solution for capturing patient satisfaction, the PatientPad platform uses an iPad tablet to capture a patient's level of satisfaction with their physician while their experience with that physician is still fresh in their mind. With the patient's consent, this feedback can be automatically uploaded to the doctor's website or Facebook page or to Google.

"Physician compensation is increasingly being tied to patient satisfaction scores, and online reviews already have a direct effect on physician incomes due to their impact on attracting new patients, Andrew Ibbotson, founder and CEO of Digital Assent stated in a press release. "Additionally, patient satisfaction survey results now make up 30 percent of a doctor’s quality score in Medicare’s value-based purchasing program."