I was talking to a friend the other day who had recently moved his residence. He was extremely satisfied with the moving company and wanted to give the movers a tip.  To his surprise, the movers asked that he instead provide a 5-star rating on google and other social media.  He provided both a tip and the 5-star rating but was taken aback by the request for a high rating being more important than a tip.  I have heard numerous times about how important that rating may be to an Uber or Lyft driver but did not realize the impact on other fields.  Since the discussion with my friend, I have had several discussions with doctors about online reviews.  These include reviews from Healthgrades, ZocDoc, and Google.

These reviews can be a cost-effective means to increase business; these reviews have surpassed the traditional word-of-mouth patient referrals.  As much as 80% of local business searches happen on mobile devices and a vast majority of patients use these reviews to select providers or to research specialists.  These reviews, however, are based on more than the physician’s medical skill set.  They reflect the overall patient experience, staff professionalism, waiting times, and bedside manners.  Patients are not just looking at the ratings when doing their online research, but also at the comments that can encompass the entire experience including interaction with staff.  Patients are making decisions not just based on the rating and positive comments, but on how the office responds to a negative review.

A negative review can be impactful and is difficult to remove.  For instance, Google will only remove reviews that go against one of their policies, such as fake reviews, spam, or content that is clearly not about your business. They will not remove reviews that you think are unfair, or that you dispute.  The best thing to do is to be proactive in responding to the review.  However, many physicians become concerned with a negative review being posted but are reluctant to respond due to HIPAA concerns.  HIPAA prevents the physician from mentioning specific treatments, conditions, or anything that could identify a patient’s medical details.  The best recourse is to respond professionally to the patient by expressing sorrow for their experience, assuring them that all feedback is taken seriously and invite offline discussions of any unresolved issues.

The other way to counter a negative review is to encourage positive reviews.  Most patients will have a positive experience and will appreciate the interaction with your medical practice.  However, these patients do not typically write a review.  The ones who typically write reviews either had an extraordinary experience or a negative one (the exceptions).  So, what do you do to encourage more positive reviews?  First, make sure the service you provide is first rate from all members of the team.  Make sure to establish your business profile on the online reviewing sites.  Have correct contact information, address and office hours.  Then ask patients about their experience, and if positive, encourage the patient to leave a review.  Explain to the patient that you would like an honest review that can be short and to the point.  Ask for a single review focusing on the positive aspect of their experience.  Make it easy for them to provide the review, perhaps by a follow-up email that provides a link to a reviewing site.  Have a QR code in the office or have the office staff politely request a review and provide the patient with the appropriate link.  Remember to also respond to the positive reviews.