As far as online reputation management is concerned, it doesn’t matter if you are a local hardware store, a stay at home mom, or a doctor. When people can write a review about you, they will. One group that is just now starting to see the reviews coming their way is doctors. In a recent study by the Journal of American Medicine, patients are taking an interest in reading and writing reviews about doctors. Many businesses in the world are dependent upon word of mouth to progress their brand. This makes maintaining your online reputation even more vital than even just yesterday.
In the survey mentioned above, patients were asked to rate the importance of several factors when they were choosing a physician. Not surprisingly, the number one thing patients were looking for was if the doctor accepted their health insurance plan. It was a factor in just under 90% of those questioned. The number of years and how long they have also been practicing rated very high.
It may not seem as important to some, but the other major factor that ranked in the top five was the reputation that the doctor had. In fact, better than 75% of patients that responded put this high on their list. Even more important that online reviews of the doctor was word of mouth from family and friends. It was important to 85% of patients. Finally, physician referrals rounded out the top five.
That being said, we are going to discuss why reputation management is essential to physicians, fake or inaccurate reviews and what to do about them, and finally, how to manage your reputation as a doctor. So, let’s dive right in.
Why Doctor Reputation is Important
As discussed above, it is vital for many patients. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of people who are taking an interest in the reviews of doctors. Much like other review sites, doctor review sites have been cropping up. The most recent are Healthgrades.com, Vitals.com, and RateMDs.com. Of the people in the survey above, up to 65% of them were aware of the existence of these sites. Most of that 65%, found the information on them useful and would base a decision to use a doctor from the information provided.
Most importantly, patients are taking these reviews seriously. Better than one-third of these website subscribers indicate they are going to be choosing a doctor based solely off the reviews they read. Likewise, more than 35% decided against a doctor based on the reviews they read.
For all of the above reasons, it is crucial that you, as a doctor, maintain your online reputation. There are many services like ours that exist to help you. Should you find yourself in need of online reputation services, don’t hesitate to call the professionals. Your livelihood could depend on it.
Fake and Inaccurate Reviews
To be completely honest, false and inaccurate reviews are the majority of what you will find on the internet. That does not mean that people will not believe them. As we stated above, up to two-thirds of people are choosing their doctor solely based on what they read. That makes it very important to hunt down and eradicate these from the internet. We are going to be honest with you, and again, it will not be easy. Not only are there hundreds of websites that people can review you on but getting them to remove their rating is next to impossible. So, what can you do?
Well, one step is that you can enlist the services of companies like ours. We have the knowledge and the connections to push those negative reviews to the second page of Google and beyond. In other words, the evaluation and the site will exist; it will just not be in a place where a lot of traffic is seen.
Another step is to make sure that you have positive reviews from your current clients on any website that you have. People are much more likely to visit Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Get permission from your clients and post these reviews. The more good reviews you have, the better your reputation will be.
Last, take a look at the next topic and exercise some of the advice we provide you.
Reputation Management for Doctors
Below, you will find a list of ways to improve or maintain your positive image.
Sign up for physician review sites. If you don’t know what is being said about you, then there is no way you can prevent more inaccurate information from being spread about you. In other words, don’t wait for the reviews to come to you, go to where the reviews are. This will allow you to provide up to date and accurate information about you.
Respond to reviews. No matter if the report is good or bad, respond to your customer. When you are doing this, you will want to make sure that you are not using a cookie-cutter response on every review. People on the internet will see this and think you are just responding to respond. Take the time to make each interaction unique to the client. This may be difficult if you are in a niche practice, but we are confident that you will find a way.
Address the fake reviews. If you know for a fact that a review is fake, take the time to address it. This will require a lot of work on your part. You will need to prove to Google, or the website in question, that this review is fake. For example, if someone says that you worked on them when you were away for a holiday, this review can’t be accurate. Provide pertinent information to the correct people, and the review will be removed. Remember, every fake review that gets removed will improve your practice.
Consider negative feedback a gift. You may not like it, but a negative review does not always need to be taken away. It will not only provide you with a way to make things better for your patients, but it will also allow you to show future patients that you have made changes based on that review. People like to know that you are willing to take criticism and build on it.
Ask your patients for reviews. When your patient is being checked out of the office, make sure to advise them you would be happy to hear their feedback. Tell them to be completely honest. Any review is welcome.
Conclusion On the best of days, maintaining a perfect online reputation is next to impossible. As we move more and more to online reviews, it will become increasingly more difficult. Follow the advice we have provided you above. You and your practice will benefit greatly.