BCBSNC Launches Health Survey Tool to Help Customers Rate Experiences with their Doctors

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Choosing the right physician is a very important decision for most families and individuals, and many turn to the internet to get the most up-to-date information.  Today, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) is launching a free, online tool which lets customers share their experiences with physicians in North Carolina.

 

To help customers make more informed health care decisions, BCBSNC is partnering with WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) to expand access to the Zagat Health Survey tool that is currently available to customers in WellPoint’s affiliated health plans.

 

"BCBSNC wants to offer our customers the opportunity to share their experiences and to help them take a more active role in their health care decision-making,” said BCBSNC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Don Bradley. “Customer experience information offered by the Zagat Health Survey tool complements the clinical quality, cost and other tools we provide to support consumers' health care decision-making."

 

Zagat Survey is widely known and trusted for its ability to help consumers make informed decisions based on the shared experiences of large numbers of savvy surveyors. Through BCBSNC’s partnership with WellPoint, the Zagat Health Tool provides a reliable resource for customers to actively engage in sharing and utilizing that information.

 

The Zagat Health Survey provides a way for customers to review and evaluate physicians based on a set of distinct criteria. This tool not only helps members, but it serves as a valuable resource for physicians looking for feedback on their patients’ experiences.

 

The online survey tool allows customers to review their doctor visits based on:

The survey will also feature a comments section, allowing customers to explain their ratings. These categories are designed to solely reflect customer experience with a physician, not to reflect the quality of care they received.

 

For each network physician, the online entry will display contact information, ratings on a 30-point scale for each of the four categories, and the percentage of customers who recommend that physician.  The most recent comments will be displayed first, and members will have the option to rate the usefulness of comments and report suspicious comments.  The Zagat Health Survey tool and results are available free of charge to all BCBSNC customers by enrolling in “My Member Services.”

 

 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in delivering innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.7 million members, including approximately 900,000 served on behalf of other Blue Plans. For 75 years, the company has served its customers by offering health insurance at a competitive price and has served the people of North Carolina through support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Access BCBSNC online at bcbsnc.com.

 

WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of medical membership in the United States. WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at wellpoint.com.

  

Known as the "burgundy bible", Zagat Survey is the world's most trusted source for information about where to eat, drink, stay and play. With more than 300,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date, comprehensive and reliable" guide ever published. Zagat content is available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: in book format, on ZAGAT.com, via the downloadable ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and on the mobile web with ZAGAT.mobi. For more information, visit ZAGAT.com.

 

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