Date: 02/05/2016

New to Baltimore, with no referral base, Johns Hopkins orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Bashir Zikria decided he would be very accessible — that would be his hook, his brand, his way of gaining patients quickly and winning their loyalty.

“I saw anyone who urgently needed care,” Zikria says. “And I let them talk and tell me their story; that’s what makes patients like coming to you.”

His strategy worked. He has acquired a very satisfied and loyal patient base, reflected in consistently stellar patient satisfaction scores.

Zikria is director of the Sports Medicine Arthroscopy Lab at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and sees patients at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians sites in White Marsh and Alexandria, Virginia. He is one of 26 physicians to achieve a top rating on a five-point scale from 95 percent or more of their patients on the Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG-CAHPS) survey.

Developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2007, the CG-CAHPS survey is designed to measure patients’ experiences with health care providers and office staff in medical practices, with the aim of improving the patient experience. It is based on research into what matters most to those seeking care in the ambulatory setting. Survey questions cover such topics as getting timely access to care; follow-up for tests, treatments and phone inquiries; physician communication; front desk customer service; and medication management.

Some health care providers choose to share their survey results publicly to promote their strengths. It is expected that they will be required to share their CG-CAHPS data in the future so that consumers can use the data to compare practices and providers.

Asked to rate him as a provider, 97.5 percent of Zikria’s patients gave him a top score. The average among orthopaedists nationwide is 82 percent.

Zikria sees patients in Arlington, Virginia, at Ballston Medical Center; at White Marsh; and at Johns Hopkins Bayview. Additionally, he is the physician for The Johns Hopkins University’s sports teams and travels to perform surgeries and teach overseas. Until last year, he was one of two chief physicians for the Baltimore Orioles. He has also been named to the 2015–2016 Leadership Fellow Program of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, one of only 10 physicians nationwide.

“Most patients understand when you want to take care of them. And they appreciate being asked for their input. It’s not me telling them what to do; it’s a discussion,” he says.

Dorianne Feldman is another provider whom patients highly value. She attained a CG-CAHPS score of 99.2 percent.

The medical director of The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s inpatient rehabilitation unit, she says that seeing the patient heal is the ultimate payoff for her efforts. Feldman, who began her career as a physical therapist, works with patients who are impaired in some way, with many finding common daily activities impossible.

She says she tries to go “above and beyond” for every one of them to help them heal.

“When someone is able to dress themselves or wash their hair by themselves again, it makes me feel like I won the lottery,” says Feldman.