Q. How does a doctor get on the list?
A. To compile the list, New Jersey Monthly commissioned a survey by Leflein Associates, a research firm in Ringwood. Leflein Associates mailed a questionnaire to every doctor licensed in New Jersey for at least five years. The doctors were asked to vote for physicians they would choose to treat their own family members. This balloting is the basis for the list. Click here for the complete methodology.
Q. Is there any professional oversight of the process?
A. We receive assistance each year from the Medical Society of New Jersey. Additionally, the members of our professional advisory board provide input on the final list.
Q. How many votes does a doctor need to appear on the list?
A. It depends. Most categories have a standard threshold based on the overall number of doctors. We lower the threshold for certain pediatric and surgical specialties, and in certain counties where the universe of practitioners is smaller.
Q. Are doctors included in the list because they buy ads in your magazine?
A. Absolutely not. Only after the list has been finalized are doctors notified. At that point they can choose to purchase print or online advertising to promote the achievement.
Q. I have a great doctor. Why isn’t he or she on the list?
A. We do not add doctors to the list based on reader suggestions. The list is based purely on the balloting by the doctors. Our advice: If you are happy with your personal docs, stay with them.
Q. Why are there so few doctors from some areas of the state?
A. The state’s thinly populated southern and western counties—including Cumberland, Salem, Cape May, Warren and Sussex counties—each have fewer than 250 licensed doctors. That makes it hard to get a statistically significant number of votes. To compensate, we lower the thresholds in these areas to allow more doctors onto the list.
Q. Don’t the same docs make the list every year?
A. Yes and no. This year’s list of 989 Jersey Choice doctors includes 316 doctors who were not on the list last year.
Q. What if there is a disciplinary action against a doctor?
A. Any doctor who has been disciplined for a serious infraction by the state medical examiner is excluded from the list.