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Fourth Quarter 2009 |
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2009 Member Experience Survey
As a company built by doctors for doctors, we pride ourselves on being uniquely aligned with your interests. This year we reached out to our members nationwide with our third annual Member Experience Survey and received an enthusiastic response.
If you participated, thank you for taking the time to respond. Your response is invaluable in helping us fulfill our commitment to relentlessly defend, protect, and reward physicians who advance the practice of good medicine.
Member Loyalty
We were delighted to find that our member loyalty remained strong at 97 percent this year, and 96 percent of our members are likely to stay with The Doctors Company until they retire.
Rewards—Tribute® Plan
In 2007, the majority of members told us that rewarding doctors for loyalty is important. As a result, we launched the Tribute Plan, our innovative benefit that rewards members for their continuing loyalty and for their commitment to providing outstanding patient care.
Member support for the Tribute Plan has increased rapidly, with 88 percent of doctors saying they are satisfied with our efforts to reward them. This enthusiastic response highlights our long-term commitment to enhancing member benefits.
Relentless Defense
Members continue to agree that The Doctors Company sets the standard for the industry’s most aggressive defense. Of responding members with a claims experience, 91 percent recognized that we relentlessly defend our members. We close 82 percent of claims with no payments to the plaintiff, and of the cases that go to trial, more than 87 percent result in victories for our members.
Exceptional Member Services
We strive to provide best-in-class service and communications to every member. This year’s survey results reflect that our members continue to be satisfied with our services across several important experience points:
- Ninety-two percent of members are satisfied with the way we handle phone calls, questions, and requests.
- Ninety-one percent are satisfied with the accuracy of our billing.
- Eighty-eight percent are satisfied with our efforts to communicate.It is evident that our ongoing communications initiatives, launched in response to member feedback, are having a positive effect. We will continue to explore ways to provide you with important information.
Our dedication to providing outstanding service is proof that The Doctors Company treats you like a member and not just a policyholder. In fact, 87 percent of members agree.
Unrivaled Protection
A full 87 percent agree that we successfully protect our members from potential threats to their reputation and livelihood. We are fiercely devoted to protecting doctors by helping them minimize risk and avoid lawsuits. By continuously monitoring new trends and treatments, we’re able to develop industry-leading patient safety programs and tools that help physicians improve the environment in which they practice medicine.
Fair Pricing
With recent rate decreases averaging 12 percent, we saw an increase in the number of members who consider The Doctors Company’s rates to be competitive. Because we are so closely aligned with the medical profession, we not only bring together the tangible benefits of the industry’s best defense and unrivaled protection, but we also reward members financially for excellent patient care and keeping claims low.
Online Services
More and more members are experiencing the expanded online services now available on our Web site—including 24/7 access to Certificates of Insurance, credentialing, an online payment center, a free CME exam with credits, Tribute Plan balances and a new Tribute payout calculator, claim handling instructions, and a growing library of industry-leading patient safety information.
This year, members responded that they are more satisfied than ever with our expanded services. We are committed to an aggressive program to make our Web site the best in the industry.
Again, thank you to all of our members who participated in the survey. Our members’ opinions count. Your answers help us find the best way to meet your needs and ensure that we deliver the highest quality of member service.
The Doctor’s Advocate is published by The Doctors Company to advise and inform its members about loss prevention and insurance issues.
The guidelines suggested in this newsletter are not rules, do not constitute legal advice, and do not ensure a successful outcome. They attempt to define principles of practice for providing appropriate care. The principles are not inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods reasonably directed at obtaining the same results.
The ultimate decision regarding the appropriateness of any treatment must be made by each health care provider in light of all circumstances prevailing in the individual situation and in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the care is rendered.
The Doctor’s Advocate is published quarterly by Corporate Communications, The Doctors Company. Letters and articles, to be edited and published at the editor’s discretion, are welcome. The views expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or official policy of The Doctors Company. Please sign your letters, and address them to the editor.