Inova Partners with National Research to Launch Online Physician Reviews

LINCOLN, Neb., Sept. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Research Corporation announced today the successful launch of online physician reviews by Inova healthcare system in Northern Virginia. Inova recently selected National Research as its partner to publish verified patient ratings and reviews of Inova Medical Group physicians on Inova.org.

Patient ratings and reviews are becoming increasingly important to consumers in the provider selection process. In the past 18 months, National Research has published over one million verified patient ratings to hospital system websites.

The most representative and reliable data to power these reviews is collected via federally regulated patient experience surveys. Market-leading organizations like Inova are partnering with National Research to share their survey results with the public. Hear more about Inova's dedication to consumer-centered transparency in this video.

"We're focused on providing our community with the most robust and valuable resources available to make informed healthcare decisions. National Research helps us meet the needs of our community by converting our patient satisfaction survey data into published ratings and reviews of our physicians," said Rob Birgfeld, Chief Digital Marketing Officer at Inova. "NRC's software platform helped us quickly publish the largest and most trustworthy collection of ratings and reviews about our physicians anywhere on the web. We're thrilled to share this valuable information with Northern Virginia, Greater Washington, DC and beyond."

Every completed survey counts toward each doctor's individual rating and 100 percent of patient comments are published unedited, unless they are profane, libelous, or risk the privacy of the patient. The ratings are calculated according to the industry best practice methodology published on hctransparency.org and National Research audits all excluded comments to ensure they meet the strict exclusion criteria. "This level of rigor was an important factor in choosing to work with National Research," explained Birgfeld.

"These reviews give consumers in Northern Virginia a powerful tool to make more informed decisions when selecting a doctor," said Andrew Ibbotson, Vice President of Reputation at National Research. "We're proud to partner with a progressive health system like Inova who is embracing transparency as the future of healthcare."

About Inova

Inova is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that serves more than 2 million people each year from throughout the Washington, DC, metro area and beyond. Inova is a comprehensive network of hospitals, outpatient services and facilities, primary and specialty care practices, and health and wellness initiatives.

Inova encompasses the full array of health services, including the area's only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We are home to many nationally and internationally recognized programs, including Inova Heart and Vascular Institute (IHVI), Inova Translational Medicine Institute (ITMI), and the Inova Dwight and Martha Schar Cancer Institute.

Inova is a global leader in developing and applying personalized health. Connecting researchers, clinicians and empowered consumers, we integrate genomic research for patient care, prevention and wellness. Our personalized health approach enables individuals to live longer, healthier lives.

More information and statistics about Inova is at www.inova.org.

About National Research Corporation

For more than 30 years, National Research Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCIA and NRCIB) has been at the forefront of patient-centered care. Today the company's focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, communities, employees, senior housing residents, and other stakeholders.

National Research is dedicated to representing the true voice of patients and other healthcare stakeholders. This integration of cross-continuum metrics and analytics uncovers insights for effective performance improvement, quality measurement, care transitions, and many other factors that impact population health management.

For more information, call 800-388-4264, write to info@nationalresearch.com, or visit www.nationalresearch.com.