Providers lead increase in UHS' reputation score

UHS has achieved a high score from the national organization that measures many healthcare organizations’ performance across a variety of online attributes.

UHS has been recognized with an “800 Award” for 2022 by Reputation.com. The award celebrates any provider or healthcare location that has earned a “Reputation Score” of 800 or greater.

This year, 39 UHS-affiliated providers and offices topped the 800 mark, up from 32 providers and locations last year. You can see the full list by clicking here.

Six providers and eight offices hit or exceeded the 800 level for the first time this year.

Providers’ scores ranged from 805 to 880.

“This award is a strong validation of our providers and the service they deliver to our patients,” said John M. Carrigg, president and chief executive officer of UHS. “Today, a strong online reputation is essential for any healthcare organization, as more and more consumers turn to the World Wide Web to research and read reviews before seeking care.”

UHS leaders noted that when providers and physician office locations register such high scores, it is a reflection of the consistently outstanding care provided by UHS’ practices and their focus on creating a great patient experience.

In the recent past, online report cards or patient reviews were not a major factor in evaluating care and service. But now, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has changed.

The Reputation Score calculates an organization’s performance across a variety of important online areas, such as visibility, engagement and consumer sentiment.

The higher the Reputation Score, the greater the likelihood that the provider or office stands out among search engine and map results, as well as review sites—showing that they are doing the right things to be seen and chosen by new consumers.

The score is calculated on a 1,000-point scale, where 1,000 is the highest possible rating on the scale and 100 the lowest. An 800 score is considered very impressive.

Frank Floyd, MD, lead provider for Patient Experience in the UHS Medical Group, noted: “These ratings and comments are reported to websites such as Facebook and Google. In an era where patients are increasingly relying on Google searches for choosing their healthcare providers, it is important that the data on websites be fair and accurate.”

Continuing, he said: “By increasing the number of comments and ratings on these sites, the data becomes more meaningful. Prior to this, websites often had a very limited amount of patient input.”

Patient reviews of provider offices are sought in a systematic way:

• For each UHS location and provider currently tracked by reputation.com, an initial e-mail is sent to the patient, typically within the first 24 hours after their appointment, asking them to leave a review or star rating on Facebook or Google.
• Three days after the initial e-mail, if they don’t respond, another e-mail is sent inviting them to leave a review or rating on Google.
• Five days after the second e-mail, if they still don’t respond, one more e-mail is sent asking them to give a rating.
• Reputation.com is a business-to-business online reputation and customer experience management company headquartered in Redwood City, Calif.
• The company has stated that its software-as-a-service platform helps businesses monitor and respond to online reviews, social media and surveys; analyze customer sentiment; and collaborate to make operational improvements.