New Hanover Regional Medical Center is now displaying patient satisfaction (CGCAHPS) scores and comments for NHRMC Physician Group providers on its websites.

“Consumers are turning to online reviews to make choices about healthcare providers,” Tad Dunn, chief quality officer at New Hanover Regional, said in a news release. “By providing verified comments and scores from actual patients, we’re being transparent with consumers, as well as maintaining the reputation that our physician practices have worked so hard to establish.”

Scores and comments are taken from surveys given to patients who see NHRMC Physician Group providers in their outpatient practices. The scores are translated to star ratings posted on the provider profile pages of the Find A Provider section of the hospital website and the NHRMC Physician Group website.

The ratings and comments are based on patient feedback to survey questions that ask specifically about the physician or mid-level provider.

Both positive and negative comments are posted, though reviewers screen and remove comments that are inappropriate or risk the privacy of patients. To allow for a reliable sample size, a minimum number of 30 surveys must be submitted for a provider before scores and comments are posted.

“New Hanover Regional Medical Center and the NHRMC Physician Group have been collecting patient survey data and sharing it internally to drive improvements for years. But this is the first time survey data will be shared publicly,” Dunn said.