The best way to understand the patient experience is by asking patients.
The chatter of strangers online has become just as important as the opinions of our trusted family and friends. The internet has broadened our ability to view people’s opinions on pretty much every product and service out there, including those opinions on healthcare workers. In fact, 77% of consumers reported always reading online reviews when browsing for local businesses, and if you think your private practice is an anomaly of this stat, odds are you’re probably wrong.
Do reviews help you?
The simple answer is yes.
Reviews are the second most trusted form of advertising, which is a clear indicator that the public is growing trust in the quality of information on the web. With the ever-increasing usage of smartphones, tablets and laptops, people are not only able to leave ratings and reviews on your personal platform, but they also make referrals on social media informing others how long they had to wait at their appointment, how the doctor and staff treated them, and even whether they felt their provider was knowledgeable and trustworthy. With so many channels to get this personal information, it seems like reviews could actually be bad for your practice, but nowadays, ratings are key to sustainable success.
This transparency affects income directly to the extent that prospective patients can be easily attracted or repelled by you or your practice. Nearly half of patients overall said that they would go out of their way to see a doctor who had positive patient reviews so increasing good reviews is a key driver of revenue. Doctors who allow their patients to leave reviews also agree that they give 360° views of the quality of care they provide rather than basing the quality off of what they perceive to be true.
The set-up
Patients are all different. Some of them are naturally going to speak up about their experience, while others won’t be as outspoken. Either way, patients who have bad experiences are two to three times more likely to leave a review. Because of this, to is important you request each patient’s feedback after every consultation or appointment to gain a diverse, rather than extreme, set of reviews that can build your reputation online.
To do this, you need to design a patient feedback system that allows patients to rate your level and quality of care and allows you to monitor their responses and ask for details about specific episodes if need be. With this platform, avoid asking broad questions like, “are you satisfied?”, and instead dial in on different parts of their patient journey to get real data that you can learn from. Ask questions that help identify and address issues with the office, medical staff, communication, your patient portal, billing, and overall care. Appointment scheduling, the doctor’s quality of care, thoroughness, and professionalism are some basic categories that could be included but try to personalise these to what makes sense regarding your practice.
By creating this platform, all your reviews will be compiled in one place and those looking for care can find your credibility online from others.
Identifying different reviews
Understanding the reasons behind positive, negative, and neutral reviews will help you spot trends within your practice and navigate responses to each. Positive patient reviews tend to use adjectives like friendly, thorough, and excellent to describe their one-on-one experience; while negative reviews tend to use adjectives like rude and unprofessional to describe wait times, support staff and insurance offices. This suggests that patients tend to use positive reviews to speak about bedside manner, and negative reviews to explain logistical matters.
Being able to pinpoint where reviews are coming from and who/what they are targeted at will help you better understand whether issues are happening more/less in specific areas, and you will also be able to identify which patient populations are most effected by them.
Responding to negative reviews
Providers fear negative reviews, and they assume they could poison their reputations, but this is not actually the case. Luckily, patients interpret reviews in a balanced way and are more than willing to book appointments with doctors who have received a few negative reviews, as long as the reviews aren’t overwhelmingly negative.
Even with a balanced interpretation system, it is still important that when mistakes are made, you listen, take responsibility, and apologise to the patient. Making a customer feel heard with a sincere apology can go a long way and can quickly convert a patient with negative experience to one of your most loyal patients. Sometimes resolving their issues will even motivate them to write a positive follow up review. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to request reviews. You want to be receiving the good with the bad so you can analyse and make improvements in your practice.
Patient health
This may come as a surprise, but studies show that good patient experiences are tied to improved health outcomes. The higher a doctor’s star rating, the lower in-hospital complications and re-admission rates patients tend to have. The Journal of Health Affairs found that when deciding between different treatment options for the same condition, patients will defer to their provider to choose which option to go with. They do this because they view their doctors as authoritarians and fear they’ll be labeled as the ‘difficult patient’. This view prevents patients from fully engaging in their care, leaving them with a greater chance of going with treatments that aren’t the right fit for them.
When patients feel listened to and as if their feedback matters, their overall engagement can improve which is key to better health outcomes.
Healthcare is inevitably driving towards transparency and reviews are a key tool in this process. In this shifting landscape, they allow doctors to remain visible, and are meaningful and empowering for patients. Instead of shying away from the occasional negative, view reviews as a holistic set of data that you can use to improve your quality of care, increase patient retention, and drive revenue.
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