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THE PR PERSPECTIVE
6 EASY WAYS TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR
HEALTHCARE PRACTICE'S ONLINE REPUTATION
01Monitor your online reviews. You can't be proactive about your reputation if you don't
know what people are saying about you online.
Check review sites to see if any disgruntled patients have
gone digital; even better, set up negative review alerts with
a reputation management tool. Take positive reviews into
account — it’s always good to see what patients think you
are doing right.
02If you see a negative review, respond online with an
empathetic, courteous explanation... that doesn't reveal any
confidential patient information.
Show that you're taking the complaint seriously, and ask to take the
conversation offline. Reaching out leaves the door open for a future
relationship, and shows review readers that you're serious about
providing a positive experience.
Don't stay quiet!
03Try to stem any patient issues before they get to the
online stage. Send feedback requests after each
appointment. Follow up personally to each
negative response, telling the patient that you take
their response seriously and that you're using their
input to improve their next experience.
Hopefully this will convince them to give you
another try ... and not take their dissatisfaction to an
online forum.
Be proactive.
04Regularly survey your patients; they may not be speaking up about issues
they're having with your practice. Discuss patient feedback -- both negative
and positive -- in regular all-hands meetings to come up with a strategic
future plan.
And it might not be all bad; happy patients might need a little nudge to
share why they had a good experience. Consistent feedback from your
patients base is the best way to stay in front of possible issues, and ensure
you continue practices that are working.
Survey your patients.
05Review sites do a fairly good job of protecting you
against fraudulent postings from disgruntled ex-
employees or competitors, but there is always
room for error.
If you see something in a review that doesn’t ring
true, investigate its source. You may need to
contact the site directly to ask for it to be
removed.
Keep your eyes and
ears open.
Now comes the hard part: You need to take a critical eye to evaluate
every aspect of your practice, and be alert to any weaknesses. This is
not an easy task, so collaborate with all team members or call in an
outside expert to contribute an experienced and objective voice to the
assessment process.
Today negative reviews can go up within seconds and ruin your
reputation. You can’t afford to let any single aspect of the patient
experience suffer. As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of the cure."
06Be open-minded.
