Quality and Outcomes Reports - Ear, Nose and Throat

Referring Physician Satisfaction

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

What this means - Overall, responses are very favorable. Some areas of improvement identified include ease of contacting staff, offering more outreach clinics and more appointment availability.

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. Surveys are conducted every two years. Due to the implementation of EPIC in the fall of 2012, referring physician surveys were not done in 2012. Our next survey will be conducted in 2014.

Related dimensions of care:

What we're doing to provide the best care:

  • To improve our clinic flow and patients' experience, we had parent focus groups help redesign our waiting room and teaching room in the ENT Clinic. We also are improving our teaching materials, working to reduce wait times and improving our patient satisfaction scores. 
  • We have a team including nurses and advanced practice nurses to help coordinate inpatient care and smooth the transition to outpatient care.
  • 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.

Patients and families:

  • If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please call Central Scheduling, at (877) 607-5280 or (414) 607-5280 as soon as possible to reschedule so another child can be seen.
  • Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can gather needed information from you before you see the doctor.
  • Check with your insurance provider before your visit to see if a referral is needed to see a specialist at Children's Hospital.

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:
  • 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 information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.