You can start using the website by going to the first web page, entitled "Overall Rating of Doctor." The diagram below shows key features of the "Overall Rating of Doctor" web page.

The diagram below shows key features of the web page you will go to if you click on a doctor's name, or if you check boxes for several doctors and click the "Compare" button.

A key part of the "Overall Rating of Doctor" web page is the bar-graphs and numbers showing how each doctor scored based on answers given by his or her surveyed patients when asked to "rate this doctor." This web page also shows you if each doctor's score was statistically significantly Better or Lower than the average of all surveyed doctors in the community. The words Better and Lower mean that the doctor's score is better, or lower, than average and that the doctor would very likely (95% likelihood) get a better, or lower, than average score even if all possible patients were surveyed.

On the "Overall Rating of Doctor" web page, you can sort by clicking on a column heading (for example, sort alphabetically by clicking on the words "Doctor's name" in the heading of the column that shows doctors' names and addresses). You can focus your search on doctors you are most likely to be interested in by making selections in the "SEARCH" box on the left of the web page (for example, you can enter a zip code, select how many miles from that zip you want to search, and then press the "Search" button to narrow the list of doctors geographically). You can also click on an individual doctor's name to see how patients rated the doctor on specific issues, such as how well the doctor communicates and how easy it is to arrange appointments and care. And you can check the boxes to the left of several doctors' names and then press the "Compare" button in the SEARCH box to see a detailed comparison of up to three doctors at a time.