Information for Patients and Carers
- Find the doctors who other patients think are great
- Driving change: everyone benefits from your experience
- Thank your doctor publicly for delivering great care
iWantGreatCare is a free service for all those looking to find a doctor for themselves, their family or those they care for. iWantGreatCare allows you to search for a doctor by name, specialty or region of the country and read the reviews and ratings of other patients.
By showing you independent ratings and reviews for doctors, you can find the sort of doctor you would prefer when choosing a doctor for whatever reason, e.g. looking for a new GP or finding out about local specialists for a hospital appointment.
Trust, listen, recommend
Simply use the search box on iWantGreatCare to see doctors listed according to the views of other patients and their carers. You can then instantly see how much that doctor listens, how much trust their patients have in their care and whether their patients would recommend them to others.
Contributing to the improvement of the NHS
iWantGreatCare is the simplest, most direct way to provide feedback to help a doctor deliver better care. Simply add your comments to iWantGreatCare and the doctor can instantly read your review. Reviews are totally anonymous unless you offer identifying information yourself.
The health service is not run for the doctors – it is run for patients, and iWantGreatCare empowers you to provide the direct feedback necessary to ensure continuous improvement for each and every patient in the UK.
iWantGreatCare, July 2008
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a location for my doctor?
How will my review help other patients get great care?
How can the ratings of doctors help me/my family get better health?
Don’t all doctors give great care?
How do I add a review?
My doctor is not listed, how do I add them?
The hospital/surgery where I saw my doctor is not listed, can I add it?
What should I put in the review?
What should I NOT put in the review?
How many reviews can I write?
Do you edit the reviews?
Will my doctor know I wrote about them?
Shall I tell my doctor I rated them?
What information do you keep about me? Why?
Why do you need my email address?
Is my review anonymous?
Why did I get an email after writing a review?
I posted a review but haven’t had the confirmation email?
Help, can I remove a review I wrote?
Why did I get a message saying my review could not be posted?
How did you choose the rating criteria?
I read a review which is offensive or unacceptable
How do I find a doctor for my area or medical need?
How can I find the technical results of a doctor?
How do you prevent abuse of the system?
What do doctors think of iWantGreatCare?
I think iWantGreatCare should be more widely used, how can I get involved?
Who runs iWantGreatCare?
How do I add a location for my doctor?
If you add or review a doctor, you may be asked to add their location. Simply type the first few letters of the hospital or practice name and then choose from the options. If you have any problems adding a location, please email adminservices@iwantgreatcare.org confirming the name and location of the doctor you want to rate.
Where is the review I added?
Reviews may take up to 5 days to appear. The iWantGreatCare team may need to confirm details of the doctor you have rated. If your review is not visible after this time, please check you have clicked the link in the confirmation email you received. Reviews that breach the terms of use will not be added.
How will my review help other patients get great care?
Adding your opinion to iWantGreatCare is an effective way to help other patients and carers. As more reviews are added, patients looking for a great doctor can read the shared experience of thousands of others in the same position to help find the doctor that is best suited to their needs. This will help build a trusted relationship with your doctor, which is known to deliver better health outcomes for you as a patient.
Adding your anonymous opinion to iWantGreatCare is also an effective way to give constructive feedback and thanks to your doctor. This helps them to be aware of your experience and helps improve the care they give. Being transparent about their patients' feedback will help doctors build trusted relationship with their patients, which is known to deliver better health outcomes.
How can the ratings of doctors help me/my family get better health?
You can search iWantGreatCare to find the type of doctor with the style and approach you prefer. All doctors have met professional standards to practice safely and competently, but the 'bedside manner' and communication methods of doctors vary greatly. By reading the reviews of other patients you will be able to get an idea of how a doctor behaves towards patients, and thus choose the approach that best meets your needs. It is well reported that the quality of the relationship and communication you have with your doctor can influence the outcome of your care. Letting your doctor know what a great job they have done and using iWantGreatCare to publicly thank them will help them continue to give great care.
Don’t all doctors give great care?
All doctors have met professional standards and are only allowed to practice if they give safe, effective, competent care. However patients are more satisfied by their care from some doctors compared to other doctors in the same specialty. Doctors have their own personal style and approach and iWantGreatCare allows you to find the doctor with the characteristics you prefer.
How do I add a review?
It is simple to add a review. Search for your doctor from the home page, putting in their location of work (the name of the hospital or GP practice) if you know it. As you're typing the location, iWantGreatCare will suggest matching locations you can choose from. Select your doctor from the search results that follows and then use the sliders to rate your doctor on how much they listen, whether you trust them and whether you’d recommend them. Finally, add your comments to complete the review to help the next patient get great care.
My doctor is not listed, how do I add them?
If you are sure your doctor is not listed in the search results you can add them to iWantGreatCare. Simply click the “Your doctor not found, add them now" link at the bottom of the page. You will then be able to add your doctor's title, forename, surname, what sort of doctor they are (e.g. General Practice, Cardiology, etc) and choose the location of the hospital/surgery where you saw them. You can then immediately add your review. By doing this you have helped others get great care.
The hospital/surgery where I saw my doctor is not listed, can I add it?
In the unlikely event of not being able to find your hospital or surgery on the site, e.g. when adding or rating a doctor, please email adminservices@iwantgreatcare.org with details of the location and the name of the doctor you would like to rate and review.
What should I put in the review?
The most useful doctor reviews help the next patient get a feel for the style and approach of the doctor. They highlight the great things about the doctor and how they have helped you or your family, as well as suggesting ways that the doctor could be even better. The more detail the better. Doctors find open, balanced reviews and suggestions very helpful in their drive to continually offer better care to all their patients. Stick to your opinion, and remember you are legally responsible for what you write. It will not be helpful to the next patient by ranting about a doctor. If you have any ideas on how iWantGreatCare could acknowledge or give an award for the most constructive and helpful reviews, please email your thoughts and ideas to adminservices@iwantgreatcare.org.
What should I NOT put in the review?
Do not put in anything offensive, obscene, or libelous. Please ensure you have read the terms of use of iWantGreatCare – and remember you may not post reviews of a doctor if you are involved in any ongoing litigation or complaints procedure. You may be personally liable for what you write and iWantGreatCare will co-operate fully with any formal legal proceedings related to the unlawful use of iWantGreatCare. If you keep the question in mind, “Will this help the next patient and will it help my doctor improve?” then you will usually be fine.
How many reviews can I write?
To prevent abuse of the system or bias from a small group of patients, there is a limit to how many reviews you can add. If you have a valid reason to review more doctors than iWantGreatCare allows, for example you have been treated by a team of doctors for a complex problem, please use the form on the contact page and the iWantGreatCare team will make appropriate arrangements.
Do you edit the reviews?
No, iWantGreatCare does not edit reviews or ratings. What you write goes directly onto the site for others to see. iWantGreatCare is an independent service and allows you to see what other patients think without any interference. Reviews that break the Terms of Use are removed.
Will my doctor know I wrote about them?
All ratings and reviews are anonymous. The only way your doctor will know you wrote about them will be if you include something in the review that identifies you. If you would like your doctor to know what you are writing about them, you can include your name in your review.
Shall I tell my doctor I rated them?
Using iWantGreatCare is an effective way to say thank you to a doctor in a public way, and all good doctors value constructive feedback on how they can continually improve. If this leads you to tell your doctor you rated them, it may help your doctor to know if you think iWantGreatCare is a good idea. If you selected your doctor after reading about them on iWantGreatCare then you should definitely tell them – they will like the feedback and it marks you out as a patient who takes an active interest in working with your doctor to get the very best health outcomes.
What information do you keep about me? Why?
iWantGreatCare keeps your IP address (internet address of your computer) and email address when you rate a doctor or add or report a review. Recording your IP address helps prevent abuse of iWantGreatCare and your email address is needed so you can receive an email after making your review that contains a link to confirm the information. You have to click on the link in this email for your review to be added to iWantGreatcare.
iWantGreatCare aims to exceed all the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Your personal information is never shared, sold or passed to third parties. The only exception to this is if you break the law by making a posting that is obscene, libelous, etc. iWantGreatCare will fully co-operate with any formal legal proceedings related to information you add to iWantGreatCare.
Why do you need my email address?
To prevent abuse of iWantGreatCare you will be sent an email after rating a doctor or making a review about your doctor. You need to click on the link in this to confirm the information in your rating or review.
You can also choose to receive alerts and information relevant to your doctor by opting in when you add your review.
Is my review anonymous?
Yes, totally anonymous unless you identify yourself in the review.
Why did I get an email after writing a review?
You need to confirm your rating or review by clicking a link in the email you have been sent. This is one of many ways iWantGreatCare prevents abuse of the system and protects patients from being misled. Your rating or review will only remain on iWantGreatCare if the confirmation link in the email is clicked.
I posted a review but haven’t had the confirmation email?
Please check your spam or blocked mail folder. If you are sure it is not there please use the form on the contact page and the iWantGreatCare team will look into this immediately. Please include on the contact form the name of the doctor and the date you added the review.
Help, can I remove a review I wrote?
If you need to remove a review you wrote then please send full details, including the name of the doctor and the date you added the review to changemyreview@iWantGreatCare.org. You must send this email from the address you used when you added the review.
Why did I get a message saying my review could not be posted?
The reason will be given in the message, and will usually be due to exceeding the limit on the number of reviews an individual can add. If you have a valid reason to review more doctors than iWantGreatCare allows, for example you have been treated by a team of doctors for a complex problem, please use the form on the contact page and the iWantGreatCare team will make appropriate arrangements.
How did you choose the rating criteria?
When you rate a doctor you can rate three them on three measures: listen, trust and recommend. How well did they listen to you, how much do you trust them, and whether you would recommend them. These criteria have been derived from a review of clinical research that shows these three criteria are meaningful to patients and doctors and predictive of safe, effective care.
I read a review which is offensive or unacceptable
Please click the “Report this review” link by the review, you will then be asked to leave a comment and then click the button that reports the review. This alerts the iWantGreatCare team who will assess the posting.
How do I find a doctor for my area or medical need?
The search box on the front page allows you to search for doctors by the name of the place they work or by approximate location. Additionally you can put in the specialty of the doctor you are looking for, e.g. if you need a knee replacement you search for 'Orthopaedics'.
How can I find the technical results of a doctor?
iWantGreatCare does not try to assess technical ability of doctors. All doctors registered with the GMC are trained to professional standards and are assessed for their technical proficiency throughout their postgraduate training. iWantGreatCare allows you to assess and measure the non-technical abilities of doctors, how they make their patients feel, how they communicate and what their patients think of them. These crucial issues are known to influence the health outcomes for patients.
If you need to know how doctors perform technically and other measurements of their performance, it is best to ask the doctor directly or ask the hospital or surgery they work in. It is expected that doctors who encourage your participation in iWantGreatCare will welcome such questions and will be open in their response.
How do you prevent abuse of the system?
There are a range of systems and processes to prevent abuse of the system. This is important to ensure patients can trust iWantGreatCare to help them choose the best doctor for their needs.
What do doctors think of iWantGreatCare?
It varies! A few don’t like it, but far more have enthusiastically welcomed the idea. The whole area of direct patient feedback is new and for some doctors this is very challenging. However all good doctors want to know what their patients think about them so they can improve and continue to build trust and confidence with their patients. Doctors are already using iWantGreatCare to help in this, and are encouraging all their patients to rate their care.
I think iWantGreatCare should be more widely used, how can I get involved?
Please encourage your friends and family to rate and review their doctors on iWantGreatCare. If you are part of a patient group or medical charity and would like to work with iWantGreatCare please use the contact page to get in touch. iWantGreatCare provides special services to help charities, please tell iWantGreatCare how the service can support your vision.
iWantGreatCare helps patients share their voices in a powerful way to drive change and improvement for the benefit of all patients.
Who runs iWantGreatCare
The small team managing iWantGreatCare passionately believe that by empowering patients to share their experience, knowledge and opinions we can drive changes and improvements in the health service that will benefit all. iWantGreatCare believes that patients and their carers need to be fully engaged in the future of healthcare services, and this means having effective, meangingful ways to exercise choice.
The iWantGreatCare team brings together healthcare professionals, patient groups and others with a passion for making sure that every patient in the UK gets the very best care – and that every doctor gets the benefit of being able to monitor how effective they are in the eyes of their patients.
The idea for iWantGreatCare came from Dr Neil Bacon an Oxford specialist who combines a medical career with a decade’s experience of developing innovative internet services for better healthcare. Although there is a small management team, iWantGreatCare is what you and other patients, carers and doctors make of it because it is your opinions that matter the most. Thank you for making iWantGreatCare an effective way to help all patients get truly great care.
If your questions have not been answered in the sections above, please contact us.