Dr. Miguel Pappolla honored as compassionate doctor by Patients' Choice

Dr. Miguel Pappolla of Houston was recently named a Compassionate Doctor Honoree for 2011 by www.patientschoice.org.

The healthcare website joined two other sites to glean feedback from patients about experiences with their physicians around the country.

The Patients' Choice annual recognition honors the top 3 percent of U.S. physicians whose patients gave them the highest possible ratings in the category of bedside manner and five other areas of practice.

Medical research shows that the more comfortable a patient is with his doctor, the more likely the patient is to disclose all important health information and follow a prescribed treatment plan, according to a press release.

"While many physicians receive positive feedback from patients, relatively few receive such high praise about the compassion that accompanies their care," said Erika Boyer, vice president of consumer research at Patients' Choice, in the press release. "We congratulate Dr. Pappolla on this achievement."

Pappolla's training includes neurology and pain medicine, clinical pathology, anatomic pathology and neuropathology. He practices as a back pain specialist in Houston.

For more information, call 713-661-0300 or visit www.patientschoice.org or Pappolla's own website at www.smpsclinic.com.