Building a positive online reputation and credibility has become a must for physicians to thrive and survive in the competitive marketplace. Online reviews now govern the dynamics of a provider’s online reputation. Given the present scenarios, a positive review from a satisfied patient is considered as a seal of approval for thousands of others to read online reviews before booking an appointment with a physician.
The healthcare market has become highly competitive and patients have many choices to choose from when it comes to selecting a provider. How should physicians deal with reviews to build a positive online reputation? The following steps will help you gain some insight.
Monitor Your Reviews And Ratings Constantly
With review sites and social media conversations and opinions travel at the click of a mouse. Patients have the option to write reviews about their experiences after using healthcare services. If the experience is great, patients will post positive reviews which are beneficial for creating a positive online reputation and credibility. On the other hand, one negative view can severely damage your online reputation. Also, if there are biased or incorrect views expressed on these sites, they could negatively harm your practice.
If you don’t have any idea of what is being said and written about your practice, you won’t be in a position to repair your reputation once any harm has been done. The first and most important step in dealing with rating websites is to have your own profile on the major sites so that patients can go to your profile for posting a review. This will help you monitor your ratings in an informed manner.
Respond Aptly And Swiftly
Physician-review websites provide an easy and accessible platform for patients to express their anger and reasons for being dissatisfied, that too under the cover of anonymity. Once these are posted, they are read by thousands of people who make a decision of visiting a physician based on the experience of others. If you stay ignorant or choose not to address these negative or biased views, it may sweep away the chance for attracting many potential patients.
As a practitioner, you have no control over what patients write about you, but you can definitely control your responses to their reviews. In the endeavor to safeguard your reputation, you should be “proactive” rather than “reactive.” Industry experts in online reputation management suggest that physicians should solicit positive reviews and leverage them to counter negative ones. You can request your patients to write reviews about your practice if they are happy with their treatment and health services rendered to them.
While handling negative online reviews, physicians should be cautious about protecting patient confidentiality and privacy. Dealing with these cynical reviews and feedback optimistically will serve a better purpose in building a positive reputation. While responding to them, physicians should focus on fostering honest and open communication with patients. This will help build a positive physician-patient relationship and may reduce negative reviews.
Take Feedback From Reviews
Physicians should have a positive approach while reviewing any complaints and use them as building blocks to improve patient experience and satisfaction. Physicians should appropriately reflect on the feedback and consider it as objectively as possible. Taking measured steps to deal with these reviews can help you optimize performance and quality and deliver better care for patients.
The trend of the changing physician-patient relationship due to rating websites is here to stay! The sooner you embrace it, the better it will serve you to maintain a positive online reputation. Seen in the right light, this can be extremely helpful for a physician to improve patient experience and satisfaction.