Doctor Communicates with Patients 2023-24 Edition




Learn more about these ratings.

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 explain 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 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. The 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 PPO members in 2015.

When comparing plans, small differences between scores are expected. The larger differences are important.

Doctor Communicates with Patients

  • (Worse)
    0%
  • (Better)
    100%
Blue Shield of California/Blue Shield Life - PPO 96%
Horizontal bar, 96 units
UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co., Inc. - PPO 95%
Horizontal bar, 95 units
Aetna - PPO 94%
Horizontal bar, 94 units
CIGNA - PPO 92%
Horizontal bar, 92 units
Anthem Blue Cross - PPO Too few patients in sample to report
Health Net of California, Inc. - PPO Too few patients in sample to report
Score for top health plans nationwide  97%       
Score that ranks a health plan in the top 10% of all commercial PPO health plans in the US.

Data Disclaimer  
The data source for data for the Report Cards is Quality Compass® 2023 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Quality Compass® 2023 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).

Users of the data shall not have the right to alter, enhance, or otherwise modify the data. Anyone who wants to use or reproduce the data without modification for a noncommercial purpose may do so without obtaining any approval from NCQA. All commercial uses must be approved by NCQA and are subject to a license at the discretion of NCQA. Use by healthcare providers in connection with their own practices is not commercial use. A "commercial use" refers to any sale, license, or distribution of the data for commercial gain, or incorporation of the data into any product or service that is sold, licensed, or distributed for commercial gain, even if there is no actual charge for inclusion of the data. ©2004-2023 National Committee for Quality Assurance, all rights reserved.

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