Managing Patient Reviews & Improving Online Reputation

Online patient reviews weigh heavily on any medical practice. The types of reviews patients leave influence future client decisions, patient trust, and your practice’s online reputation.

When satisfied patients leave numerous positive reviews, you can increase your website visibility in search engines so your services reach a wider community. By the same token, bad reviews on a public forum can reflect poorly on your practice.

At Weave, we provide a comprehensive platform for collecting and managing patient reviews. Read on to learn everything you need to know about managing the reviews your team of physicians receives.

The Growing Significance of Online Patient Reviews

Patients want quality services when they visit physicians. Many patients rely on doctor reviews for honest, helpful opinions when deciding which practice to choose from in the area. In 2021, approximately 70% of online shoppers read between one and six reviews before choosing a product or service.

Because people rely so heavily on others’ opinions, your practice must prioritize its reputation. Online reviews can drastically impact the reputation of providers at your clinic and your facility as a whole.

What Patients Look for in Reviews

When reading through your facility’s online reviews, patients look for a few key aspects. The top factors patients consider include the following:

• Bedside manner: Did the doctors have a compassionate and empathetic bedside manner toward the client and family? Did your team listen to patient needs and explain things clearly?
• Office environment: Is the office clean and organized? Was the front desk staff friendly, attentive, and able to direct the patient to their needs? How long was the wait time?
• Staff behavior: Did the staff behave in a positive, helpful way? Does the staff seem as though they’ve been through adequate specialty training? Was the patient able to schedule their future appointment or surgery date without a hassle?
• Patient care: Were the patient’s needs met? Did the provider clearly explain their treatment plan, providing health tips and protocols for the next visit?

Responding to Patient Reviews: Best Practices for Physicians

You may feel tempted to defend your practice’s reputation if you receive a negative review. Replying to any review you receive across websites can be a good management practice, but you must comply with the directions from HIPAA.

HIPAA requires that you keep patient information anonymous. If patients post positive or negative reviews online revealing their own information, you must maintain their privacy in your reply. For example, if a patient leaves a review stating their name and primary complaint, you may say something like, “We have contacted you via email to discuss your concern further.”

In all cases, you must respond to negative comments professionally, courteously, and politely to de-escalate the situation while proving your office cares. To learn more, sign up for our webinar on review management.

The Art and Science of Review Management: How to Increase and Respond to Customer Reviews – Weave

The Dos and Don’ts When Replying to Reviews

Replying to feedback from patients isn’t always easy. Here are our top strategies for handling comments you receive online:

• DO: Reply quickly
• DO: Offer solutions to the problem they faced
• DO: Take the situation offline to resolve the customer’s problem
• DO: Ask the person to remove the review once resolved
• DON’T: Release any of the customer’s private information online
• DON’T: Get angry or blame the reviewer for their review
• DON’T: Delete negative comments unless they are slanderous or vulgar

Integrating Patient Reviews Into Practice Improvement Strategies

Patient feedback gives physicians and organizations the ideal opportunity for continuous improvement. When you gather insights, you can conduct a thorough analysis to learn the common pain points or positive experiences your clients face so you can improve your patient journey.

We recommend encouraging your patients to leave reviews on various websites or through collection tools. For example, Weave offers an automated collection tool to make the process as easy as possible. Once you’re ready to analyze results, sign up for our webinar on turning reviews into actionable improvement strategies.

Case Studies: Success Stories of Improved Patient Satisfaction

A systematic review found that a few healthcare settings successfully used feedback from patients to improve patient-centered care in public hospitals. Such facilities used surveys to learn more about engaging patients in their care for better satisfaction rates.

In another instance, Cercek Dental was able to use Weave to grow their Google Reviews from 5 to 100+, all while maintaining steady, profitable growth and providing patients with a one-of-a-kind dental experience. Read more about Cercek Dental’s experience here: 

Case Study: Cercek Dental Sets Their Practice Apart With Weave

The Role of Technology in Managing Online Reviews

Technology platforms, like Weave, can make collecting and managing reviews a breeze, which is vital for busy medical clinics. At Weave, our system features automated review reminders via text and an AI-powered response assistant related to their comments so you can engage with your patients in a streamlined way.

Manage Your Patient Feedback More Effectively With Weave

Effectively managing patient reviews is vital to the success of your healthcare facility. At Weave, our platform allows you to gather more reviews without time-consuming manual efforts. Get a demo of Weave today to see how we can help you streamline review management.