Philadelphia, PA – Recognizing our nation’s doctors for their leadership in the prevention and treatment of illness and injury, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) is asking members to share the experiences they’ve had with network doctors whom they’ve seen in the past six months.
“At IBC we continually strive to enhance and evolve the consumer experience, so we are pleased to offer our members this opportunity to recognize the care that has been provided to them by the well-known, up-and-coming, and not so well-known doctors in our network,” said Brian Lobley, IBC’s senior vice president, marketing and consumer business. “With the rise in popularity of consumer review sites throughout the marketplace, we want to provide health care users with a venue to express their level of satisfaction for the services provided.”
With IBC’s new Find a Doctor tool, both members and non-members can search for a doctor and view his or her available ratings and reviews. Members who log on to ibxpress.com, IBC’s secure member website, can enter ratings and write reviews about their experiences with network doctors whom they’ve seen in the past six months. Members will be able to rate their network doctors in the following areas:
- Experience. Overall care provided by the doctor.
- Communication. Willingness of doctor to listen to their concerns.
- Availability. Ease and timeliness of obtaining an appointment.
- Environment. Friendliness of office staff.
In addition to searching more efficiently for doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals in IBC’s network, the Find a Doctor tool provides members a deeper look into the background of each doctor. For example, individuals can view information about doctors and compare them based on qualifications, accreditations, gender, language, board certifications, and other criteria. The doctor profiles also include details about their practices, such as location, office hours, accepted health plans, and hospital affiliations — all equally important factors when choosing a doctor to fit one’s needs.
Separately, members can view and compare cost estimates by geographic area for nearly 150 commonly performed inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic, and pre-admission testing procedures — from joint replacement surgery to an MRI or colonoscopy screening.
History of National Doctors’ Day
The first Doctors’ Day observance was March 30, 1933, in Winder, Georgia. Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, decided to set aside a day to honor doctors. This first observance included mailing greeting cards and placing flowers on graves of deceased doctors. The red carnation is commonly used as the symbolic flower for National Doctors’ Day.
Media contact:
Kathleen Conlon
215.241.4576