Vanguard in the News

Indianapolis-area patients, apparently, love their doctors. Colorado-based Vanguard Communications has created a new Patient Happiness Index based on patient reviews of doctors.

The Happy Patient Index provides a comparative snapshot of how satisfied Americans are with the healthcare available in their cities – with the least satisfied patients in some of the largest and wealthiest cities in the U.S.

By scouring online reviews of physician practices, individual physicians, clinics and hospitals, Vanguard Communications has ranked the nation’s largest cities by physician reviews in its Happy Patient Index.

“Healthcare now is a retail service, like banking or tax preparation. People expect to be able to drive right up, walk in, and have the same experience they can have in a restaurant or retail establishment. In some ways, it’s unfair to the doctor, but it is the reality.”

“If patients are looking at information on nonsurgical alternatives for back pain and they get it from a chiropractor, that patient already has a connection with that doctor,” King says. “People shop for information first and doctors second and it’s true for chiropractors as well.”

Online complaints about physician bedside manner and customer service were nearly four times more common than complaints about physicians’ medical skills, according to a survey by Vanguard Communications.

Medical practice websites need to become a go-to source for patients to serve as the technology backbone to a new patient-centered model of care.

A new survey finds that physician websites are woefully lacking when it comes to serving patients, serving merely as electronic brochures than online health resources.

An independent survey finds that only one-third of physicians in three American cities offer direct website help to meet patient needs online.