How to handle negative online patient comments
Reviews of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other care professionals are increasing at an astonishing rate: 50% year over year since 2012. And show no sign of stopping.
But what can (or should) you do when a patient leaves a negative comment about you?
The short video below shows there are legal steps you can take, but these steps need to approached with caution because they can be very costly and can potentially damage your reputation even further.
Click here to watch the video >>
But, there are action steps you can take to create a strong online profile:
- Make sure your health profile on rating sites is current. Especially, where you work and areas of expertise. When people search for you, they often are directed to rating sites. Refer to this previous posting to learn how to edit your profile.
- Monitor your profile. Periodically check to see what people are saying. If there are comments that are in violation of the site’s review policy (e.g. bad language, nonsensical, violent) contact Robin Walden at robwalden@cox.net and she can work with the rating site to get the comment removed.
- When possible, try and address an issue. A patient recently tried to post negative remarks on Starling’s Facebook page. We blocked the comment but forwarded to Operations and Billing who did an excellent job at contacting the patient. The patient appreciated having her voice heard and this prevented an escalation where she could have posted on other rating sites that are outside of our control.
- Encourage patients to post. The more positive reviews you have, the less likely a negative review will have an impact.
Rating sites are here to stay! They can be used to your advantage when properly updated and monitored.