Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, doctors, and medical practices are at the mercy of patient reviews. The power has swung from the health industry to the patient. As a result of the glut of competition in the medical industry, as well as digital media, more than ever, potential customers and patients use testimonials to guide their decision.
Every medical practice can acquire a strong digital presence by appearing on online medical review sites such as Healthgrades, Vitals, and RateMDs. According to gmrwebteam, 81% of individuals say that continue to do internet research on providers even after they have been referred to a doctor. Even more shocking – 90% of individuals will choose another provider if they cannot find any reviews online about them.
Of course, reviews are a double-edged sword. If a medical practice is dependable and effective, then good reviews will accrue, and more patients will join. On the other hand, if a medical practice consists of ineffective doctors, reviews will unveil this and potential patients will avoid this practice like an illness.
This article will illustrate several easy methods that doctors and medical practices can collect favorable reviews. In addition, this article will reveal the most effective ways to share these reviews with potential customers and patients.
Why Reviews Are Essential
Reviews are essential to any doctor or a medical practice for two reasons:
- Improve the treatment and quality of service.
A negative review can be more valuable than a positive one, in that a bad review can teach a doctor how to improve the experience of their patient.
- Get more patients
Few things in life are as important as our health. Consequently, most people are willing to invest a lot of time in researching the most qualified doctors in the area. Reviews are the most effective way of ensuring that an individual is seeing a doctor capable of healing them. According to Forbes, 63% of people search for online reviews before visiting a business.
Ways To Collect Reviews
Just because a doctor or medical practice is good, does not mean that patients will write good reviews about them. Reviews usually need to be retrieved. Here are some ways that medical practices can collect reviews.
Interact with the patient
Every medical practice should always attempt to maintain communication with their patients. In today’s digital world, interaction with patients is easy to achieve, though it may require some creativity. Of course, in order to communicate with a patient, an email address or phone number is needed. Emails are an easy way to find out if customers are pleased with their treatment. Plus, there is no harm in sending an email to a customer asking for a review.
YouTube reviews
A video review is the most personal hence, they are the most effective. In addition, medical reviews will be more of a story – a person got sick, suffered, and then was healed by the doctor. Such emotional events are extremely persuasive in the form of a video. Instead of reading a review, actually, see the review spoken can do wonders to attract new patients.
Unlike a retail company, a good medical practice won’t need to offer customers an incentive to create a video testimonial. The loyal patient will be happy to oblige their doctor. Be sure to ask the patient for the rights to the video before uploading it onto YouTube.
Review sites
A review site uses technology to gather reviews across the internet or may sample the product and write their own reviews. GoogleMyBusiness has an average monthly traffic figure of more than 158 million.
It is imperative that all medical practices are always keeping check with the top physician review sites:
Vitals
Healthgrades
ZocDoc
RateMDs
If a bad review shows up on one of these sites, a medical practice should try to get it removed as quickly as possible. The doctor or practice should try to make amends with whoever wrote the review. They should also offer to correct the problem. Tread carefully though. One false move can spell messy legal HIPAA trouble.
Employees
Companies should ensure that all customer service or sales employees ask customers for reviews. No employee likes to be saddled with more work thus, companies should offer incentives for reviews. Perhaps, the reward becomes larger with every review the employee attains – $20 for the first review, $30 for the second review, and so on. If a company is trying to collect reviews, no marketing money could be better spent than on such incentive programs.
How To Display Reviews
As illustrated in the article, if a review is written about a doctor, one could be certain that potential customers are well aware of the review. Reviews are the greatest marketing tool that a practice can use. A doctor should be proud of such reviews and display them for the world to admire on their Facebook page as well as their website.
While this may not always be possible, always try to include the reviewer’s full name. Someone who feels compelled to write a review should have no problem with including their full name. A praiseworthy review written by Jon S. might be considered fake.
Conclusion
In today’s digital age, reviews can make or break a medical practice. A bad review for the local barbeque restaurant might be nothing to smile about, but its effect will be limited. On the other hand, a bad review for a doctor or a health practice could be devastating. When dealing with one’s own health or their family, everyone wants the best possible selection possible. This article has explained various methods to attain positive reviews and the most effective ways to display them.
