LYNDHURST, NJ, Jan. 8, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Looking for the most-recommended cardiologist in Downtown Bakersfield, California? Or maybe a highly-rated podiatrist in The Loop of Chicago? An orthopedic surgeon in Back Bay of Boston?
With the new Top 10 Doctor award, finding the best local specialists is easier than ever.
Vitals (vitals.com), the leading online physician information and ratings resource, has established the Top 10 Doctor award to help patients easily identify the highest-rated doctors in their neighborhoods, as well as to honor local specialists who've received the highest praise from their patients online.
Top 10 Doctors are chosen by patients who visit Vitals in search of a new doctor, totaling 120 million people each year. Vitals visitors also leave ratings and reviews for their current doctors on various components of care: bedside manner, follow-up care, ease of appointment setting, courtesy of office staff, and overall appointment experience.
Vitals analyzed these patient-provided ratings in order to identify those physicians within a certain specialty and neighborhood who are consistently rated highly.
Only about 20,000 doctors - less than 3 percent of all doctors nationally - met the criteria for Top 10 Doctor honors in 2012. The winners represent 39 specialties and more than 2,500 neighborhoods across the US.
Patients who see the Top 10 Doctor icon on a doctor's Vitals profile can feel confident that doctor has been vetted through the experiences of their fellow patients and neighbors, whose testimonials attest to the doctor's superior care.
Doctors who've been honored as a Top 10 Doctor for 2012 can look forward to being set apart from the crowd with an icon added to their profile in recognition of their accomplishment, increasing their visibility to prospective patients.
Top 10 Doctor is part of a suite of awards given by Vitals each year, including Patients' Choice and Compassionate Doctor.
Criteria for Top 10 Doctor Recognition
To be honored as a Top 10 Doctor, a doctor must:
- be among a significant number of highly-rated physicians practicing the same specialty within a neighborhood
- rank in the top ten among eligible physicians practicing the same specialty within a neighborhood
- have no sanctions
- have an active medical license
About Vitals
Vitals is the only website dedicated to helping patients find doctors that meet their needs, request appointments and prepare for their visit with our condition-specific Patient Guides. Used by over 11 million people each month, Vitals makes it easy for patients to find and connect with quality medical care.
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