How Patients Use Online Reviews

It’s difficult, and perhaps impossible, for healthcare organizations and professionals to promote and protect their practice’s online reputation while also providing high-quality care for those who rely on them. In the same way that patients look to top medical practitioners to help monitor and maintain their health and well-being, hiring a professional review management team to do the same for their medical practice’s reputation is essential.

Fortunately, there’s healthcare reputation management. In this blog, we’ll discuss:

• What Is Healthcare Reputation Management?
• The Importance of Online Reviews to Patients
• How Potential Patients Use Online Reviews for Doctors and Hospitals
• Physician and Hospital Reviews: Powerful Engagement Tool for Healthcare Providers
• Tips for Responding to Reviews

What Is Healthcare Reputation Management?

Healthcare reputation management is the process of monitoring and managing a healthcare organization or professional’s online presence. Hospital or doctor reputation management involves tracking patient reviews, responding to feedback from patients and other stakeholders and proactively building a positive image for the organization.

Engaging in doctor or hospital reputation management helps professionals and organizations ensure that their public image remains intact, even in times of crisis or increased scrutiny. Healthcare reputation management also helps to build trust with current and potential patients by showing that the organization values their input and takes steps to address any concerns they may have. 

The Importance of Online Reviews to Patients

According to the 2022 Healthcare Trends Report compiled by YouGov, an overwhelming majority (72%) of respondents take into account online ratings and reviews (doctor reviews and hospital reviews) when evaluating a new healthcare provider. Most of them also stated that they prefer selecting healthcare providers with a rating of four stars or higher.

Especially in the time of COVID-19, customers are increasingly looking for assurance that healthcare providers prioritize safety and cleanliness. Apart from seeing physician reviews, 49% of respondents indicated that they valued being able to book an appointment online, while 26% reported wanting more comprehensive information on doctor credentials and qualifications.

The 2022 Healthcare Trends Report also touched on the importance of transparent patient experience ratings. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they valued knowing what other patients thought about their doctor visits, and almost half (47%) stated that they would be more likely to select a healthcare provider with higher patient experience ratings.

As such, it was clear from YouGov’s 2022 Healthcare Trends Report that consumers are more likely to select healthcare providers that have substantial patient reviews for doctors. So, healthcare providers should focus on providing exceptional customer service by investing in doctor or hospital reputation management services to attract new patients and maintain loyalty.

How Potential Patients Use Online Reviews for Doctors and Hospitals

Patients use hospital or physician reviews as a source of more comprehensive, unbiased information. With the wide range of online resources available, patients also assess and contrast healthcare providers and their services to find the best fit for them. Hospital and doctor reviews provide detailed descriptions from actual patients regarding their experience with a provider, including details beyond what is offered in standard patient brochures or other marketing materials.

If you want to embrace the importance of online reviews, employ a hospital reputation management tool that will help you manage reviews properly.

Physician and Hospital Reviews: Powerful Engagement Tool for Healthcare Providers

Top review websites and social media channels, where reviews for doctors and hospitals are found, serve as an engagement platform. Aside from responding to doctor and hospital reviews, you can provide updates on your services, answer questions from current or potential patients and create personalized content that connects with your audience.

You can also select hospital and doctor reviews that showcase patient stories and share them on social media posts, highlighting your team and expertise.

Tips for Responding to Reviews

A significant part of hospital and doctor reputation management services is responding to reviews. Here are some review response tips many reputation management consultants swear by:

• Be professional and courteous at all times.
• Show gratitude by saying thanks and responding timely.
• Ask questions for clarity; take the time to understand.
• Express empathy toward the situation
• Be honest and accountable for any mistake.
• Explicitly offer an apology.
• Emphasize actions to resolve issues.
• Offer to continue the conversation privately.

Additionally, when responding to hospital and physician reviews, it is essential for healthcare providers to ensure compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. HIPAA requires that patient information be kept secure and confidential. Healthcare providers should carefully consider their words when responding to patient reviews to prevent improper disclosure of protected health information (PHI).

If you want to be sure your review response strategy does not violate any law, consider working with physician reputation management consultants. Experts from online reputation management companies are knowledgeable about review response do’s and don’ts of specific industries.

Getting Started With Healthcare Reputation Management

Here are some tips to better help you demonstrate your credibility to potential patients while nurturing relationships with current ones.

1. Monitor your online reputation regularly. The healthcare industry is particularly vulnerable to reputation damage due to negative reviews on social media and online directories. Thus, all healthcare providers must monitor their online reputation regularly. This includes monitoring mentions of your practice on sites such as Google and Yelp, as well as other medical websites and directories. Keeping a close eye on how you’re being portrayed online can help you identify any potential issues early and take quick action to address them.

2. Leverage patient reviews. Numerous studies have demonstrated the power of positive patient reviews in driving business for healthcare providers. Encouraging current patients to leave reviews can be a great way to boost your online reputation while also helping potential new patients get an idea of the level of care they can expect from your practice. As mentioned, you can leverage them by extracting and highlighting select positive reviews to promote your practice.

3. Respond quickly yet wisely to negative feedback. If there are negative comments or feedback about your practice, you must respond promptly and professionally. Not only will this show potential customers that you take customer service seriously, but it will also give you the opportunity to address the issue at hand and possibly rectify the situation with the unhappy customer.

4. Build partnerships with other professionals or brands in the industry. Building solid relationships with other healthcare brands or professionals in your community can help strengthen your online reputation over time. These partnerships often involve mutual referrals or services that benefit both parties, which builds trust between each party involved and helps promote positive perceptions about your practice online.

5. Manage social media accounts. Social media serves as a reputation management tool to reach potential customers, build relationships with current customers, generate new leads and position your business as a leader in the field of medicine within your local community. It is vital that all posts are professional and well-written—avoid using slang words or making jokes, as this could hurt rather than help your online reputation grow.

6. Implement local search engine optimization (SEO) tactics to increase visibility. Local SEO tactics such as keyword research, content marketing, guest blogging, or link building can help increase visibility for your practice’s web pages when people search related terms on Google or other search engines. By optimizing relevant web pages for higher rankings in results pages, you can drive more organic traffic directly to those pages, which in turn may lead to higher overall conversion rates.

7. Invest in a reputation management tool. Online reputation management companies utilize software to streamline their process. With a reputation management tool, you can quickly track and respond to customer reviews, run review generation campaigns, analyze sentiment trends in brand mentions, create reports and conduct competitive analysis—all from one central location. Automation saves businesses considerable amounts of time and money if done correctly.

Embrace the Importance of Online Reviews With Rize Reviews

Investing in professional doctor reputation management services is invaluable for busy practices with limited resources. Rize Reviews help healthcare organizations focus on their expertise while we take care of their online reputation.

Let our team help promote and protect your brand reputation through review management — talk to us!