When patients find a practice with overwhelmingly positive reviews. That is, with a good reputation online, there is a good chance that you will end up in a phone call or a visit.
The Importance of Healthcare and Online Reputation
When it comes to healthcare, many people value the quality of care more than the affordability of service. According to a recent Patient Experience Survey by Software Advice, more than 40% of consumers are willing to leave their insurance network for a doctor with positive reviews.
4 tips on how to manage the online reputation of your medical practice
Assess your current reputation
You can’t fix something if you don’t know what you’re working with. Take a step back and assess your current reputation by checking what people have said about you.
Doing so is as simple as looking up your practice and checking relevant review platforms. By visiting these websites, you will gain a lot of valuable information that will shape your online reputation management strategy.
Start your website
A website is one of the most effective marketing tools for healthcare professionals to manage their online reputation.
First, you have control over the information you enter your website, which means that you can highlight the positive aspects of your practice. Second, a website is often the first point of contact for many of your potential patients.
If you manage your site correctly, you can make a great first impression on your visitors and appear more professional and trustworthy.
Social media is not only a powerful tool for managing your reputation online, but also for proactively engaging potential and current patients.
Doctors around the world have used social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to combat misinformation, not only about their practices, but also about medical information in general.
Therefore, you should take the time to create social media accounts that are relevant to your practice: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, just to name a few. Building strong social media accounts has been shown to be effective in managing online reputation.
Respond to all reviews
For doctors doing well, online reviews are great for attracting new patients. On the other hand, dealing with negative reviews is a public relations nightmare.
This is a difficult problem to navigate, but it can be solved by simply allowing yourself to step back and designate someone to respond to online reviews. After all, it’s hard not to get excited when it comes to negative comments.
Make sure you do not respond to the review with information that could compromise the protection of patient privacy. This includes not mentioning any details about the patient’s case.
REMEMBER:
Whether it’s positive or negative reviews, designate someone to answer them all. This approach will not only help you handle negative reviews and not make the situation worse, but it will also show that you are listening to patients’ concerns and addressing them professionally.
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