For this year’s list of Top Doctors, New Jersey Monthly commissioned an independent survey by Leflein Associates, a locally owned research firm in Ringwood. A total of 24,689 New Jersey-based doctors were invited to give recommendations of the physicians they would choose to treat their own family members.
Here’s how the survey was conducted: On January 23, 2015, a questionnaire was mailed to all New Jersey-based physicians who have been licensed by the state for at least five years. The mailing list, which is used by the state Board of Medical Examiners for licensing purposes, was obtained from the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs. A small group of doctors for whom we have verified e-mail addresses received only e-mail notification of the survey. Respondents could return the original paper questionnaire or complete the questionnaire online. Web survey participants were required to enter their license numbers to avoid duplicate voting.
Overall, 696 mail and 3,154 web responses were received. A check for non-duplication and invalid or duplicate license numbers prevented ballot stuffing. Photocopies, duplicate online entries and surveys from ineligible participants were disqualified. In the end, 3,330 non-duplicated responses were validated for use in the survey. Once all the eligible votes were tallied, doctors with sufficient votes were placed on a preliminary list. Any doctor who has been disciplined for a serious infraction by the state medical examiner was excluded from the list. (Click here to read the frequently asked questions.)
Next, the preliminary list was submitted for professional review to a panel of 26 doctors (click here to see the professional advisory board). The doctors on the panel were chosen from among top vote-getters in last year’s survey. In the review process, the final list of 987 Top Doctors was determined, representing 69 medical specialties