Frequently Asked Questions

Where do star ratings and comments come from?

Beaufort Memorial uses the nationally recognized Press Ganey Patient Experience Survey to ask patients about their experience. Surveys are sent to patients after their outpatient appointment at a Beaufort Memorial medical practice, and patients may take a survey once every 90 days. We use this feedback to improve and enhance the care we offer.

Star ratings are calculated from all responses to the five provider-related questions on the survey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score. Beaufort Memorial does not manipulate scores, pay for ratings or compensate patients in any way.

Which comments are posted?

Patient Comments are gathered from the Press Ganey Patient Experience Survey and displayed in full. To respect patient privacy, patient names and personally identifying details are not included. Comments come from patients and reflect their views and opinions. We post all comments about a provider, positive or negative, and do not edit or remove a comment unless it has:

• Personal health information
• Offensive language or other inappropriate details
• References to other doctors
• Information not related to patient care

Why do some providers not have ratings?

We post satisfaction data for Beaufort Memorial providers employed in our outpatient practices who have a minimum of 30 completed surveys within the last 365 days. It is possible some providers have not received the minimum number of returned surveys we use to calculate the ratings and therefore have no ratings or comments posted yet.

Beaufort Memorial-employed providers who care for patients as part of a team in the hospital will not have ratings and comments posted. In addition, providers who are not employed by Beaufort Memorial but are listed on our website as members of our medical staff do not have patient ratings and comments.

When are ratings posted?

We share star ratings when a provider has at least 30 survey responses. Providers who do not have a star rating may not yet have enough survey responses to share or may be in a group not yet included in our online ratings process.

There is a lag of several months from survey submission before comments will appear on the website. Comments older than one year will not be displayed.

Can anyone complete a survey about a provider?

No. Only patients who visit a Beaufort Memorial provider at one of our medical practices will be asked to return a patient experience survey. The ratings and comments are based entirely on feedback from patients who have been treated by a Beaufort Memorial-employed provider at a Beaufort Memorial medical practice.