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What Are Patients Writing About YOU Online?
If you don’t know, this could be a problem. In the good old days a dissatisfied patient griped to their spouse, cubicle mate and few friends. Now, the picture has changed. The world has moved online and a dissatisfied, disgruntled or simply kookie patient can get even by blasting to you to thousands of people. Consider this real posting from a doctor rating:
“I broke my nose and had to have closed reduction surgery. I waited over 10 hours for the surgery. I was scheduled to have it at 1 pm but had it after 11 at night. My follow up appointment was also ridiculously late too. At my follow up appointment to have splints removed from the surgery, the doctor didn't ask me how I was feeling or give me any follow up instructions, clearance to do regular activities, etc. He said nothing, just pulled the splints out and looked up my nose. Everyone says he's worth the ridiculously long wait, but if he's a good ENT, I'd hate to see a bad one.”
“He,” the doctor was named online, but we’ve deleted his identity here. Okay, so what can you do if this happens?
Action Steps
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Right now, ask your manager, secretary or most tech-savvy kid to check you out online at these sites:
www.thehealthcarescoop.com
www.yelp.com
www.ratemds.com
These sites are anonymous, unfiltered free-for-alls, so there is no telling what people might say about you, your staff or the care you provide.
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Make sure you are listed and your information is up to date on these sites:
www.google.com / www.healthgrades.com
Thanks to a partnership HealthGrades reviews often appear first when somebody looks you up on Google. By updating your profile with HealthGrades, you can not only make sure your information is accurate and up to date, but you can also get a free copy of your report.
www.zagat.com / www.wellpoint.com
WellPoint has partnered with restaurant/entertainment reviewers Zagat to rate physicians. Check their insurer’s site to see if you are listed.
www.mycigna.com
Beneficiaries can get quite a bit of information about you. Make sure it’s accurate. Do the same with the other major carriers with a presence in your market. You might be surprised by what you find.
www.entnet.org
Although patients won’t rate you on the AAO-HNS website, it is a good idea to verify that you and other group members are listed accurately. The same goes with the hospitals you are affiliated with. You never know how your name may come up.
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Respond directly to negative reviews calmly - just as you would to an angry patient in your office. Yelp has just added a feature where business owners can publicly respond to reviews and many other sites already allow this. |
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Realize the value of administering patient surveys in your office. |
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Encourage happy post-op patients to post reviews on sites like HealthGrades. |
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Learn more about this and other important topics by attending one of our Otolaryngology Coding and Reimbursement Workshops. |
Otolaryngology Workshops At-A-Glance
For more information visit our website at www.karenzupko.com or call 312-642-5616.
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Stay tuned for Part II on this subject next week, when we’ll look at possible legal protection from online ratings.
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