Doctor Communicates with Patients
2024-25 Edition
Why is it important to have good communication between the doctor and you?
To make good choices about your health, it is important that your doctor clearly explains health problems and other issues in a way that is easy to understand. The doctor needs to provide clear instructions on what you need to do. Your trust in your doctor and your ability to care for yourself is affected by whether the doctor is respectful and pays attention to your concerns.
What can doctors do to communicate well?
The best HMOs and PPOs help their doctors and other staff to communicate well with you. This includes having doctors and other staff that know your health history, listen to your concerns, and treat you with respect.
What do the stars mean?
The scores show the percentage of health plan members who highly rated their doctors’ communication skills. A higher score means more patients said their doctors communicate well.
The scores are based on information from a survey of a sample of at least 100 health plans members in 2023.
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The data source for data for the Report Cards is Quality Compass® 2024 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Quality Compass® 2024 includes Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) data. Any data display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors. NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion. Quality Compass and HEDIS are registered trademarks of NCQA. CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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