Tuesday, December 02, 2014

How to ensure a "statistically valid sample"

Here's something to give you even more confidence in validity of the US News and World Report hospital rankings, also the work being done as part of that process by Doximity:

Dear Colleague:

At University Hospitals, we are committed to providing the highest-quality, personalized care to our patients. This approach is validated every day in the feedback we receive from patients and the recognition we earn from fellow physicians.

As a physician with ties to UH Case Medical Center, whether through medical training or as a current or past faculty member, you know that part of our reputation as a national leader in clinical care comes from our strong standing in U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Hospitals" rankings. In the 2014-15 rankings, for example, UH Case Medical Center was ranked in all 12 methodology-ranked specialties for the third year in a row, with four specialties ranked in the top 20 nationwide.

For the 2015-2016 voting, U.S. News is expanding the number of physicians surveyed about reputation. In addition to the questionnaire mailed or emailed to 3,200 board-certified specialists, U.S. News will survey all eligible physicians who are members of Doximity.com, the secure online social networking site for physicians.

To help spread the word about the superior care available at UH Case Medical Center, please consider registering on Doximity.com no later than Friday, Dec. 5, when data will be sourced for the survey.

If you are registered and are board-certified in one of the relevant disciplines for U.S. News voting, you will be eligible to vote. In early 2015, you will be contacted by email or prompted to complete the survey when you log in to Doximity. The 2015 U.S. News survey represents the first time pediatric specialists who are Doximity members will be surveyed via that website. If you are already a member of Doximity, please update your profile by Dec. 5 to make sure your board certifications are listed correctly.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment and for letting your colleagues know about the exceptional patient care delivered at UH Case Medical Center.

Sincerely,
Fred C. Rothstein, MD
President
University Hospitals Case Medical Center
11100 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106

3 comments:

nonlocal MD said...

Just think of all the important things he could be thinking about and putting effort into like patient safety or something instead of this trash. It's disgusting. Why do Americans do this to themselves?

Norma Sandrock said...

From Facebook:

They're all probably doing this, so the effect will even out. Except, of course, for those exceptionally large (cough, cough) hospital partnerships (sic) with a disproportionately large number of physicians who want to make sure their institutions continue to feed their egos by landing on top of the ratings.

Michael Mitchell ‏@mjmitch1 said...

From Twitter:

Oh c'mon Paul, that letter is completely appropriate given the importance of feedback from busy physicians.