Doctors at Philly-area hospitals receive low marks for bedside manner

Hospitals in the Philly area are ranked below the national average by patients when it comes to doctor communication, according to a federal survey.

Across the region, hospitals received an average score of three stars for how well doctors communicate with patients, while the national average was a four-star rating.

While no hospital in the Philly region received a five-star rating for doctor communication, 12 received a four-star rating, and eight hospitals received a two-star rating for doctor communication — the lowest score out of 36 hospitals in the region.

Star ratings are a composite score based on patient responses to three separate questions: how well their doctors explained things, to what degree they treated them with courtesy and respect, and how well doctors listened.

At Tower Health’s Pottstown Hospital, 64% of patients said they “always” felt their doctor explained things so they could understand — ranking the lowest of the region’s hospitals. That’s compared to the highest rate at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, where 78% of patients reported their doctor “always” explained things well.

Pottstown Hospital in Montgomery County also had the lowest percentage of patients who said they “always” felt doctors listened carefully, 66%, compared to 81% of patients at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Both HUP and Penn Presbyterian are flagships of the Penn Medicine system.

Patients in the Philly area generally felt that doctors treated them with courtesy and respect, and hospital scores ranged from 76% at Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia to 88% at St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital in Upper Bucks.

These findings are part of a federal survey administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to over 8,000 patients across the U.S. after they were discharged from hospitals between October 2022 and September 2023.

The purpose of the survey is to assess quality of care — in which effective communication between doctors and patients plays a critical role.

Research shows that hospitals with higher doctor communication ratings have lower rates of hospital-acquired conditions, fewer medical errors, and are more likely to follow through with their treatment plans.