Provided by:  Jennifer Kirschenbaum, Esq.

January 7, 2020

Question:

Jennifer:

I just got a bad review. What can I do about it? 

Dr. O

Answer:

I receive this question frequently - as you can imagine.  Which is I asked Doctor.com to educate from the SEO / technical end on a webinar we are presenting on January 16th.   You can sign up here for our free joint webinar - https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6059969735455622145.

From my perspective - depends on the circumstances.  The most effective solutions, in order, are to: (1) directly ask the patient to remove the review; (2) bury the review with positive; (3) forget about it; and/or (4) fight with the host website to have it removed.    What I do not want to see you do is make the mistake of sharing HIPAA information online and risk exposure in a response...


To add another perspective to this question, Doctor.com has shared the below responses: 

You never like to see a bad review pop up on one of your online profiles. Unfortunately, getting a one- or two-star review from time to time is inevitable in the digital age, since the internet gives everyone a megaphone to broadcast their opinions. At Doctor.com, we always say the best defense is a good offense. Reviews in the healthcare industry tend to lean positive overall. If you’re actively collecting reviews from patients, positive sentiment will “drown out” the rare bad review. 

If you’re still hung up on a poor review, don’t be. Having a couple of negative reviews makes a doctor’s online presence appear credible and authentic, since it signals that the practice isn’t manipulating feedback. Patients actually trust doctors more online when they see one or two less-than-glowing reviews. 

Click here to view Doctor.com’s free ebook Mastering Online Reviews to Become a 5-Star Practice