To build trust digitally, doctors need online reviews. Without a thriving online professional reputation, doctors may see their offline success falter, especially as digital opinions become more and more influential in guiding consumer behavior.
Doctors may be wary of the value of online reviews and fearful of what a bad review could do to their practice. Seventy-eight percent of doctors say worrying about receiving negative online feedback makes their job more stressful.
But what if you could actively work to encourage positive feedback? What if you had more control over what patients posted about you? This could relieve much of the anxiety you feel about online opinions of you and your practice.
Why exactly do doctors need online reviews?
It Helps Patients Find You
Online reviews help doctors show up on the first page of Google. Healthgrades.com, the most popular site for doctor reviews, hosts at least 1 million visitors per day. If a patient searches for a type of doctor in a specific town, Healthgrades.com shows the top doctors in the area.
Also, Google uses the quantity and quality of published online feedback as a search engine ranking factor, making it more likely for potential patients to find you.
Reviews Create Their First Impression
Your Healthgrades.com profile is likely in the top three results when a patient conducts an online search for your name. Your Google reviews will pop up as well. According to a survey, 77 percent of patients use digital feedback as their first step in finding a doctor. The content of your online reviews forms your patients’ first impression of you personally, and your practice.
Don’t Depend on Your Network
Doctors need online reviews because they help bring in new patients. Forty-seven percent of survey respondents say they would spend money and go out of their health care network to see a doctor that has qualifications similar to their in-network physician, but better patient reviews.
It’s Important for Doctors to Respond
Doctors need online reviews to grow their businesses, but they also need to respond to those reviews. Sixty percent of patients surveyed say it’s either “very important” or “moderately important” for doctors to address the feedback left online regarding their care.
Quality patient care starts with listening, and that includes listening to digital feedback as well as concerns shared behind office doors.
Patients Will Leave Reviews Whether You Pay Attention or Not
Fifty-three percent of doctors read online feedback about themselves, so over half of practitioners understand that patients are posting about them online.
Eighty-four percent of patients use online reviews to evaluate physicians. It’s time to get control over what they’re reading about you.
Doctors need online reviews that show their strengths, and that’s where Accrue Reviews comes in. We provide a platform for you to proactively ask for feedback from your patients and respond privately to negative comments. By answering patient concerns in a private forum, you may be able to alter their opinion with changes to their care, turning an otherwise damaging review into a positive addition to your digital profile. Ready to get started?