The Reality of Review Sites
Review sites are a great way for patients to ‘shop around’ for the best providers. Patients often rely on the Internet to gather valuable information on your care services. This provides a great opportunity to ensure your reputation as a physician is positive online for retaining and gaining new patients.
In fact, to stress the importance of doing so, according to an NRC Health market insight, 92.4% of consumers use online reviews to influence their purchasing decisions. When it specifically comes to healthcare:
- 37% of patients use online reviews as a first step for a doctor search
- 60.8% of patients have avoided doctors based on negative reviews
- 59.9% have selected a doctor based on a positive review
Moreover, perhaps the most astonishing statistic is that today’s patients (47.5%) trust online reviews as much as a doctor’s recommendation (46.8%). This alone is enough incentive for any physician to push from not only monitoring their online reputation but addressing any negative reviews that might come up.
Top Physician Review Sites to Watch
Although larger healthcare establishments outsource online physician monitoring to other companies, smaller practices can’t afford to do so.
That being said, here are the top 10 physician review sites you should be monitoring:
The first step is ensuring you don’t have negative reviews and a bad reputation on these sites. If you do, you should address them as soon as possible and continuously monitor all reviews made on your behalf. Staying ahead means building strong patient relationships and evaluating all review criteria (scheduling, wait times, follow-ups, etc.) to maintain a healthy online reputation and provide the best care experience for your patients.
