Should You Go to a Doctor With Bad Online Reviews?
Negative online reviews don't accept to be bad for your do.
Every bit a healthcare practitioner or administrator, your first reaction to a negative online review of your practice (or you personally) might stir upwards a mix of emotions ranging from confusion, disappointment, or fifty-fifty outright anger.
It's natural to want to reply to those reviews and correct any misconceptions — and yous should answer — simply how, when, and where yous reply will make all the difference in how much that review impacts your practice.
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Just How Important are Negative Patient Reviews?
Even if a patient'due south visit goes perfectly, there's no guarantee that they volition leave a positive review.
Negative reviews (or even middle-of-the-road reviews) can be the upshot of whatsoever number of things outside of your control. If the patient had a bad experience only didn't tell you, for example, you might assume things went well just to observe out later that yous didn't alive upwardly to expectations.
On the other side, if doctors and nursing staff are rushed or overwhelmed, there'south no telling how patients will interpret that stress. They may vent online in a review without telling you exactly why they were upset.
Merely it's of import to accost whatsoever negative reviews when they pop up, every bit reviews can accept a pregnant bear upon on how new and current patients perceive your reputation.
I report on the touch on of negative reviews on Patient Satisfaction Surveys (PSSs) constitute that in some cases satisfaction numbers were lower for physicians that had negative online reviews compared to those that had none.
As Dr. R. Jay Widmer, MD, PhD from the Mayo Dispensary in Minnesota notes, "These findings are important, non only in disassociating formal [institutional] scores from online review comments but also in emphasizing that physicians need to exist cognizant of their reputation both online and in-person."
In other words, online reputation matters.
Negative online reviews don't always spell doom, of course. According to Dr. Thomas Lee, Chief Medical Officeholder for Press Ganey, negative reviews give practitioners the chance to "raise their game."
"The big impact [of reviews] is on the people beingness measured, not and then much on the consumer," he notes.
If practitioners and/or healthcare administrators are able to take negative reviews into consideration, monitor their own behaviors, make necessary changes, and respond professionally to reviewers, they tin can turn a negative situation into a positive.
With that in mind, hither are a few tips for responding to negative online reviews in ways that can positively impact your practice.
Do Address Negative Reviews
It simply tells your patients and potential patients that y'all don't care well-nigh their experiences or your public perception.
So if possible, ever reply to a negative review.
Ultimately, patients but want to be heard. Even the worst experience can be made slightly meliorate if a doctor or office staff member responds correctly.
If their complaint is resolved (as much as it tin can be), they will exist even more probable to return for a echo visit. Or, at the very least, they may take downwards their negative review or otherwise change their perceptions of your practise.
Fifty-fifty if they don't, making the try is always worth it if you know how to respond correctly.
Respond Objectively and Professionally
What is the correct response?
The ultimate goal when responding to negative patient reviews is to analyze any misinformation and to address the situation (without violating HIPAA) in a professional and personal mode.
It may exist tempting to respond to an offensive or highly emotional review with an equally emotional response, but professionalism will aid your practice come out looking better on the other stop. So proceed your cool, no matter what.
Kickoff by acknowledging that you hear what the reviewer is maxim, so either enquire questions about the particular visit (be mindful that some questions may be also personal to reply online) to clarify any confusion or simply give context to the situation as all-time as you can.
Information technology's important that the person responding to the review be the one who is nigh familiar with the situation described. If the complaint is lodged against ane of the role practitioners, for case, accept that doctor or nurse answer direct.
If the negative review is lodged against the entire practice, do your best to ascertain from staff members or those who have interacted with the patient virtually the verbal circumstances of the visit and why they may be upset.
In some cases, it may be hard to recall a patient'south visit. If that happens, simply respond as professionally and politely as possible, asking them to send you a private message to clarify.
You lot should also ask yourself and your staff questions similar:
- When did this happen?
- Who was involved?
- Why was the state of affairs negative for the patient?
- Have we heard this complaint earlier?
- Could something have been done to prevent this?
- What should we change to make certain this doesn't happen again?
Think that whether or not a review is "valid" in your mind doesn't matter as much as the patient's perspective, so be objective.
Protect Patient Data and Exist Mindful of HIPAA
It's important to publicly reply to negative reviews.
Others who see it may accept had similar experiences but been likewise afraid to share, or may be wondering virtually the exact circumstances of the review and whether or not that "negative state of affairs" would happen to them, likewise.
By addressing these concerns in the public eye, you lot tin mitigate any unwarranted perceptions of your practice before they damage your reputation.
In some cases, however, responding to negative reviews publicly may carry the risk of HIPAA violations.
Some patients may unintentionally give out private data about their medical or personal history in a review. While you can't ever control that, information technology's of import to avoid addressing things like medical weather, diagnosis, or treatments online.
The best solution is to post a generic merely professional and friendly response that doesn't go into specific details.
Something like, "Due to HIPAA regulations, we tin't discuss the specifics about your comments. Merely nosotros are committed to providing you with the best possible care and we take these reviews seriously."
Even though you can't always respond to the verbal situation in the review, yous can yet evidence the reviewer (and anyone reading the review) that you are listening and that you exercise intendance.
Offering Individual Advice
If the review warrants a more than personal response that does risk violating HIPAA, and/or the reviewer requests a more detailed response, send a private message.
Depending on where the review is posted, if a reviewer is anonymous and/or doesn't provide whatever additional contact information you may be able to send a private message through the review site itself.
Be sure to follow any messaging rules that the site has in regards to communicating with reviewers directly.
If there is no way to ship a individual bulletin to the reviewer, and you lot're unsure of their identity (don't ask for their contact information on a public site), ask that the reviewer ship you a individual message or e-mail instead.
Yous can besides ask the patient to schedule a follow up meeting if they seem extremely upset. While they may or may non take up the offer, it shows that y'all genuinely want to resolve the upshot and that you lot're not just responding for the sake of responding.
By opening up a private communication channel, yous're also confirming the validity of the review and assuasive room for the mutter to be heard.
Don't Take Negative Reviews Down (Unless They're Fake)
It's of import non to have down negative reviews unless they violate HIPAA or are otherwise unfairly slanderous confronting your practice (containing offensive language, etc.).
Aside from any legal considerations like violating HIPPA, the point of allowing reviews of your practice is to build trust. Information technology may seem easier to but post positive reviews, but in the long term, y'all desire to give patients the freedom of expression.
For some potential patients, it may seem unrealistic for all of the reviews to exist positive.
You should consider taking down a review if you lot believe it to exist a fake review, notwithstanding.
Sometimes reviewers will remain anonymous to protect their identity, and/or neglect to reach out to you once you've responded. That doesn't mean a review is fake.
Typically, there are some telltale signs of simulated reviews, similar using too many personal pronouns while defective details, for example.
If you believe a review to be fake, consider reaching out to the reviewer first to ensure that they are/were a patient at your practice. If this is not possible, contact the review site and ask for verification. If none is provided, and yous've already responded, consider asking for the review to be taken downwardly.
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Last Thoughts
Don't get caught upwards in a few negative reviews.
If you respond correctly, they can really be a positive for your practise.
Just recollect to verify the review's validity (ask around the function, inquire the reviewer to explain via private message, etc.) and do your all-time to address the concerns as professionally equally possible.
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Source: https://blog.intakeq.com/when-should-you-respond-to-bad-online-reviews-of-your-practice/
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