By scouring online reviews of physician practices, individual physicians, clinics and hospitals, Vanguard Communications has ranked the nation's largest cities by physician reviews in its Happy Patient Index.
According to the research by Vanguard Communications, a healthcare marketing, public relations and communications technology firm, patients who review physicians online tend to be overwhelmingly positive: 56.8 percent give their physicians four stars (out of five) or better.
"From these findings, I'd say that doctors get much better reviews than hotels, restaurants and retail businesses," said Vanguard CEO Ron Harman King in a news release.
However, not all patients are as happy with their physicians. Below are the 10 happiest and 10 unhappiest cities in the Happy Patient Index.
Happiest
1. San Francisco/Oakland, Calif.
2. Honolulu
3. Indianapolis
4. Seattle
5. St. Louis
6. Cleveland
7. San Jose, Calif.
8. Austin, Texas
9. New Orleans
10. Birmingham, Ala.
Unhappiest (starting with the unhappiest)
1. Bakersfield, Calif.
2. Modesto, Calif.
3. North Hempstead, N.Y.
4. Sacramento, Calif.
5. Buffalo, N.Y.
6. Riverside, Calif.
7. Orlando, Fla.
8. San Bernardino, Calif.
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Huntington, N.Y.
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