Doctors will definitely appreciate an iPad — or any other state-of-the-art handheld mobile device — in their Christmas stockings this year. With sleek styles and a wide range of medical apps, the devices allow physicians to easily interact with patient medical records, explain diseases and medical procedures — and encourage their patients to rate them at the online doctor rating website DrScore.com, an interactive online survey site where patients can rate their physicians, as well as search for a physician by specialty.
“These days, you are just as likely to find doctors carrying iPads in their white coat pockets along with their stethoscopes,” says patient satisfaction expert Steve Feldman, M.D., founder of DrScore.com. “After using the device to explain a patient’s condition or make notes in the medical record, the physician can click on the I Need a Doctor app or log on to http://www.drscore.com and ask the patient to take the quick patient satisfaction survey that looks at key metrics such as overall satisfaction, time spent with doctor, thoroughness of the appointment, appointment follow-up and overall communications, friendliness of the staff and wait time.”
During 2010, DrScore has seen traffic to its web site triple, with more physicians actively using the patient feedback provided on the site to improve patient care, says Feldman.
