Quality and Outcomes Reports - Herma Heart Center

Referring Physician Satisfaction

Why we measure it - An important indicator of how we are doing is what our referring physicians think of the care we provide to their patients, the timeliness of our communication with them and the availability of our staff to answer their questions. 

What this means - Overall, responses are very favorable. Some areas of improvement identified include ease of contacting staff and timeliness of communication.

About the Data - In 2010, a third-party vendor conducted a survey of physicians who regularly refer patients to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and provided this feedback. The data above relates to the Herma Heart Center.

Related dimensions of care:

What we're doing to provide the best care:

  • We established an access and feedback work team to make sure patients and referring physicians always have easy access to our facilities and specialists. Our goal is to communicate with and transfer care back to the patient's community physician for seamless follow-up and long-term care.
  • We significantly improved our echo turnaround time between performing the test and providing the results by changing to a digital structured reporting format.
  • We offer many outreach clinics and surgical sites to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our Milwaukee hospital location. Our specialists travel to or are located in several cities throughout Wisconsin and in Vernon Hills, Illinois to provide care closer to where our patients live. In addition to the main location in Milwaukee, other clinic locations in Wisconsin are located in New Berlin, Racine, Kenosha, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and Neenah. We also have an additional surgical location at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as well.
  • We have expanded diagnostic and clinic space for better organization and improved efficiency.
  • We expanded clinic hours including offering an evening clinic for the adult congenital heart disease patients.
  • We regularly survey our referring physicians and encourage them to share their opinions and suggestions. 
  • We review and implement changes based on physician satisfaction feedback.

Referring Physicians:

  • If you receive a satisfaction survey, please share your experience with us. Let us know what is important to you and any suggestions you have for improvement.
  • Contact the physician liaison in your area to provide feedback:
  • Fill out and fax a referral form prior to sending the patient to Children's Hospital for outpatient ancillary services or a specialty clinic visit. 
  • Forward any pertinent patient documentation, including test results, to the specialty physician's office prior to the patient's visit.
  • Referring physicians can access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day. Call our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.  
  • Health care providers from outside of our southeastern Wisconsin service area are encouraged to use our web-based
    e-Consult service. This service is available for non-urgent patient cases only and gives providers access to our specialists to review patient cases, obtain medical advice or second opinions, and receive care recommendations for rare symptoms and illnesses.
    e-Consult is not to be used by the general public, parents/guardians or families.
  • Care guidelines for medical professionals
  • Educational materials
  • Pocket Directory

If you have questions about this data or information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.