Are you managing online reviews for your practice?
by Michael Jones
Imagine this.
You’re in a new city for a trip, and have checked in to your hotel for the stay. It’s close to dinner time, and you are ready to go out and eat. What do you do? If you’re like most people, you’ll open up one of many websites or apps, such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, or others, and search for dining options near you. You’ll likely look at which ones are the closest options, then see what type of restaurant strikes you.
Then what?
Again, if you’re like most people, you’ll look at the reviews. You’ll possibly glance at the overall number of reviews and ratings, and you might just look deeper at the most recent reviews, the most negative reviews, and all reviews.
This is what many of your current and potential patients are doing as well, only they’re looking up your practice, and possibly other area physician practices. Do you know what they’re finding?
Here are some excerpts from random primary care practice reviews in various U.S. cities:
“We love this practice and would refer them to anyone looking for great primary care physicians” (five stars)
“My physician is always a pleasure to talk to and is by far the most caring doctor I have ever been to. I recommend anyone and everyone that is looking for a primary to him” (five stars)
“Lately the service has declined” (two stars)
“I am changing doctors because of the unprofessional staff answering the phones” (one star)
Reviews like these, and from various ranges in between, are shared freely by patients every single day. Patients who have a negative experience are often quick to take to the anonymity and safety of sharing their experience in a review, and patients with a positive experience should be invited to share their love of your practice and physicians. The group in the middle should be encouraged to share as well, as you earn the opportunity to move them from lukewarm patients to advocates for your practice.
Here are some statistics to be aware of, from hellohealth:
37% of patients use online reviews as a first step for a doctor search
60.8% of patients have avoided doctors based on negative reviews
59.9% have selected a doctor based on a positive review
47.5% of patients trust online reviews as much as a doctor’s recommendation (46.8%)
Managing the patient review process will result in a host of benefits for you and your team, including the free exposure from reviews, more trust between your patients and your staff, more contact with patients, especially as you respond to reviews, and a heightened patient experience across the spectrum of your services.
The first challenge facing your busy practice leadership team might be simply not having enough reviews. Statistically, around 90% of consumers read reviews, where only 6% actually leave reviews. Especially if your practice is smaller with only one or two physicians, the numbers can often work against you if you’re not encouraging feedback, because those 6% of patients who leave reviews are often detractors, which will skew your numbers.
Fortunately, the solution to not enough reviews is both simple and low cost. Ask for them! Creating a “review funnel” and a complicated process to capture, manage, and steer reviews might be something to explore as your needs grow, but if you’re simply getting started and beginning to encourage patients to leave reviews, simply using a QR code or asking patients to review you on one of the popular review sites (make sure you tell them which one) will often suffice.
You’ll be surprised what simply asking and reminding patients to leave a review will do for you.
The second challenge is awareness. With so many places to monitor, what do you devote your time to? Here are the top three review sites, by volume, from 2022:
Google. Google is by far the most utilized and most trusted source, with 66% of patients trusting Google reviews when making a healthcare decision. If you only choose one source for monitoring your reviews, it should be Google.
WebMD. WebMD is one of the three most referenced physician websites, and is referenced by 39% of patients.
Yelp. While Yelp might be the source you’d consider for restaurants or lodging, 10% of patients turn to Yelp for physician reviews, and the platform has a social proof factor of allowing users to tag reviews as “useful”, “funny”, or other options, similar to Google’s “like” feature.
As you become more familiar with monitoring your reviews, engage with your reviewers, both positive and negative. Thank negative reviewers for their honest feedback, and respond to their concerns. Let them know that their voice is being heard, just as you would with a positive review. Avoid the temptation to respond to all reviews, as this can often be perceived by consumers as being aggressive or dismissive.
Overall, managing the online reviews for your practice can seem overwhelming and unnecessary, but when you invite or ask patients to leave a review, direct patients on how to do the review, and regularly monitor your reviews, the process can become part of your workflows that will serve you well.
