1. Why is healthcare reputation management important?

Immaterial of whether your healthcare brand has a strong online presence or not, consumers are always out there talking about your practice/hospital online. They submit reviews and share their own experiences on social media. And remember, people are more likely to share a negative brand experience than a positive one. The younger generations are the primary users of these online platforms, making it significant for you to manage your online reputation.

Negative reviews are sometimes beyond your control—say when a patient leaves a negative review when they expect to receive a certain medication despite being recommended not to take it. Negative reviews are not always due to poorer outcomes or quality of care. However, despite these challenges, the fact remains that your patients are online and you need to stay vigilant on the online communications that influence your brand image. You can start simply by focusing on these three key aspects—that could significantly impact your online reputation.

2. How can you create a positive impact on Physician review sites?

Keep a constant check on these sites for new reviews and respond appropriately. Keep tabs on some of the most popular review sites like Yelp, RateMDs, Google and vitals. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 60% of patients identify online reviews as amongst the key determining factors to identify a Physician. Here are a few tips to make healthcare reputation management work for you.

Ensure that all the information provided on the listings are correct and up-to-date—including your address, specialties, phone number, hours of operation, etc. Verify that all the relevant links leading to your website and your social media pages are working fine and updated.

Acknowledge positive reviews. Thank them for their time to share feedback and let them know you are happy to have them as your patient. Respond to negative reviews as well accordingly. Be empathetic and assure them that you are looking into the issue and striving to provide better future experiences. Don’t try to justify your stand and make excuses; stay positive and reassure them the best of service.

For negative reviews about care, let them know you will contact them offline to fix the issue. Even if the patient shares any protected health information, be mindful of the HIPAA policies and don’t share any of the protected information online. Let them know they can call your office to discuss the situation further. You can even initiate to schedule a call if you know the patient.

Go the extra mile to resolve an issue and if you have managed to do so, you can ask them to consider revising their review online. Studies show that physicians who worked to increase their star rating by just half a star saw an increase of 38% in monthly appointments on an average.

3. How can you leverage social media to create a positive brand image?

Engage with your consumers on social media. You may want to announce a new technology update in your office or share some exciting event or a free camp happening in your practice or elsewhere.

Social media can be overwhelming and its best if you limit this to a few channels to stay focused on your consumers. Facebook is still one of the famous social media networks-along with Twitter and Instagram being the popular choices specifically amongst youngsters.

Pro tip: Follow other physicians using social media to gather insights.

4. What are the best practices to follow in the office?

Ask for reviews. Also, ensure that you provide a fantastic in-office experience to your patients. Remember, useful review starts with great patient experience. You will most often find that reviews are provided based on the in-office experience and do not even include the care experience. Alternatively, negative experiences are shared mostly based on wait times and bedside manner.

Be all ears to your patients; remember the first step to good reviews starts with listening to your patients. Analyze your thoughts to find out if there are recurring issues that pop up in negative star ratings-that can be fixed through better workflows or staff training. Evaluate feedback to understand what your patients really want in terms of care and convenience.

Once you have implemented new strategies and plans to provide an overall improved patient experience, check with the patients on the satisfaction scores and ask if they’d be willing to share a review. You can provide them with a tablet to instantly share a review after a pleasant experience at your office and allow them to post a review before leaving—or even send them an email and encourage them to complete the ratings at home later.

By keeping your brand image tabs online and proactively managing your online reputation, you are on your way to attracting new patients.

To learn more about SolvEdge’s holistic patient engagement solution with a powerful healthcare reputation management platform, talk to our team..