Your approach to online profiles and patient ratings should be proactive, not reactive
Benjamin Franklin once noted that “glass, china and reputation are easily cracked and never well mended.” In a world of anonymous online reviews, this is a growing concern for anyone providing services, including and especially doctors.
Just as you’ve likely tapped online reviews to determine if contractors, hotels, restaurants and more are worthy of your time and money, patients are searching your ratings with far greater emotional investment to make sure you’re the right provider for them—even before they meet you. In addition, it’s highly likely they will tell others about you online.
According to a 2012 Pew survey, 72 percent of internet users said they’d looked online for health information in the previous year, including information about doctors. Findings by Manhattan Research in the same year revealed that 54 percent of respondents “did online research to determine what services they might need and who should provide them.” Those numbers have only grown, so it’s imperative that your online reputation matches reality.
In the spring edition of IR Quarterly, we explore how you can manage your reputation and respond to negative reviews—both truthful and not. Read it now on page 14 of IRQ.