/EINPresswire.com/ -- LINCOLN, NE--(Marketwired - November 07, 2016) - National Research Corporation (NRC) is pleased to announce the 2016-2017 Consumer Choice Award winners. The award identifies top hospitals healthcare consumers chose as having the highest quality and image throughout the U.S.

Winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in the company's Market Insights survey, the largest online healthcare consumer survey in the country. This study surveys over 300,000 households in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia. From the households surveyed, hospitals named by consumers are analyzed and ranked based on their Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, with the winning facilities being ranked the highest.

Brian Wynne, NRC Vice President and General Manager of Market Insights, said, "We want to celebrate the strong brands that have captured their consumers at the point-of-choice during the past 21 years as well as congratulate the winners of the 2016-2017 Consumer Choice Award."

Learn more about the award's methodology, and see the complete list of winners at www.nationalresearch.com/ConsumerChoice.

NRC is also announcing a shift in how it will continue to recognize strong brands. As consumers are taking a more active role in their healthcare experiences, enjoying the advantage of a positive image is simply not enough to sustain loyalty throughout a consumer's lifetime. According to Market Insights data, only 42 percent of consumers are loyal to a healthcare brand. Relationships with consumers must be established, trust built, and loyalty earned in order for healthcare organizations to better care for the communities they serve.

Wynne said, "NRC is thrilled to introduce an award in 2017-2018 that honors this undeniable need for enduring relationships in healthcare. Throughout 2017, we look forward to articulating the science behind this new loyalty-based honor as well as illuminating how healthcare organizations can improve consumer loyalty in their markets."

For more information, visit www.nationalresearch.com/LoyaltyBlog.

About National Research Corporation
For 35 years, National Research Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCIA) and (NASDAQ: NRCIB) has been at the forefront of patient-centered care. Today, the company's focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, communities, employees, senior housing residents, and other stakeholders.

For more information call 800-388-4264, write to info@nationalresearch.com, or visit www.nationalresearch.com.