Negative content published about physicians and other health professionals can detrimentally affect their online reputations and the success of their practices.
Defamatory online content can take the form of doctor reviews on websites such as www.ratemds.com and www.healthgrades.com or misleading newspaper articles that paint a physician in an incorrect or unflattering light.
Doctors seeking to control their reputations online have turned to a wide range of tactics. Consequently, how doctors can manage negative content online varies.
Some approaches can help their practice reach new levels of success, while others can backfire, causing significant digital PR headaches.
Tactics that work for physician reviews by patients are different from those used to combat incorrect information that media organizations publish.
That said, by developing a comprehensive internet reputation management or an online reputation management (ORM) strategy, physicians can turn reviews and overall reputation into positive tools to deal with a wide variety of negative content.
Let’s look at how it’s done.
Medical practice/physician reputation & review management
ReputationDefender recognizes that physicians rely heavily on their online reputations and reviews. After consulting with many individual doctors across the US, we have developed services and tools to assist in monitoring, improving, and repairing online reviews and reputations.
As you’ll see below, we’ve laid out some general best practices for improving or maintaining your current online physician review and reputation situation.
However, we also realize that a physician’s time is highly valuable and may be better spent elsewhere. To this end, ReputationDefender has developed online reputation management solutions that can help doctors build, improve, or repair their online presence.
Best practices for online review/reputation management
Tip 1: Focus on the positive and share factual information
When it comes to consumer-generated content, some doctors have tried to patch up their internet reputations by asking patients to sign will-not-review agreements.
But this approach is prone to failure.
First, legal precedent makes it unlikely that such agreements would hold up in court. Second, doctors risk alienating long-term patients and encouraging spite-based online reputation attacks.
The website RateMDs.com even maintains a “Wall of Shame” for physicians who try to prevent patients from posting reviews.
There are several things you can do instead of ending up in legal problems for trying to convince patients against negative reviews.
We believe the best approach is to keep tabs on the kinds of criticisms being leveled against your internet reputation and to post factual information to counter these critiques.
Here’s how it works.
How to keep tabs on criticisms
Many physician review websites allow MDs to display professional profiles, which can help you take control of your reputation and defuse potential attacks.
Doctor-patient confidentiality prevents you from directly engaging online critics; however, you can still address common themes in a general manner.
For instance, you can downplay patient comments like “The doctor seemed rushed” with a statement such as “We are one of the few specialty practices in this area, and we pride ourselves on being the ‘go-to’ provider whom patients—as well as other physicians—recommend.”
A creative, positive response exists for virtually any criticism. And when you do find feedback that addresses a genuine shortcoming, use it as an opportunity to improve your practice.
Provide factual information to counter critiques
When it comes to media organizations, don’t even think of trying to threaten them; you’ll just generate more negative content. Your best bet is usually to provide clear, factual evidence that they have unjustly tarnished your professional online reputation, as follows:
- Contact the organization to identify the editor responsible for the piece.
- Prepare a concise description of the facts for that individual, and politely request that the article be retracted or corrected.
- Continue with periodic, polite requests until you get a response. (Persistence is key!)
For more information on how to contact site owners about incorrect or negative content, see this article. How doctors manage negative content online can be tricky, but being persistent can increase your chances of success.
Tip 2: Garner support from your patients
Regardless of the source of your negative content, this tip involves getting your patients behind you. Enough positive physician reviews by patients will eventually outweigh a few negative ones, including misleading newspaper articles.
The sheer mass of positive feedback can help you fix physician review situations.
Be aware of your bedside manner
Patients mention a doctor’s bedside manner in online forums more than any other factor. As such, you can do a lot to inspire would-be positive reviewers by making all your patients feel valued.
Work on developing conversational strategies that instill trust without significantly lengthening patient visits.
If you need to rush to get through a busy day, explain why. Also, give patients some avenue for seeking further information or asking questions, whether that takes the form of a nurse or physician’s assistant who can tackle their concerns or your promise to respond later via email.
Here are some ways you can improve your bedside manner quickly and increase your chances of getting more positive reviews:
1. Practice active listening: Give patients your full attention. Maintain eye contact, nod, and use verbal affirmations to show you are engaged. Avoid interrupting your patients, as listening is crucial for understanding their concerns.
2. Use simple language: Avoid medical jargon. Explain conditions and treatments in clear, straightforward terms to ensure patients understand their health issues and care options.
3. Be empathetic: Acknowledge patients’ feelings and anxieties. Show compassion through your words and actions, which can help patients feel more comfortable and understood.
4. Encourage questions: Create an open environment where patients feel comfortable asking questions. This promotes better understanding and involvement in your patients’ care decisions.
5. Maintain open body language: Use non-verbal cues such as facing the patient, keeping your arms uncrossed, and smiling to convey warmth and openness.
6. Allocate sufficient time: Schedule enough time for each appointment to avoid rushing. This can help you thoroughly cover important topics and address your patients’ key concerns.
7. Utilize visual aids: Incorporate a variety of visual aids, like diagrams, charts, or handouts, to help explain complex medical information and enhance your patients’ understanding and retention of vital information.
8. Be culturally sensitive: Recognize and respect your patients’ diverse backgrounds. This can help you tailor your communication style to fit each person’s preferences and cultural nuances.
9. Provide patient education: Offer resources for further information, such as brochures or reputable websites, to empower patients in their health journey.
10. Reflect on your communication style: Regularly assess and adjust your communication techniques based on patient feedback and interactions to continuously improve.
Request patient feedback
Next, encourage patients to write reviews. While directly asking for praise might turn off some patients (not to mention being ethically questionable), there are a lot of ways to gently foster helpful feedback. You might consider some of the following:
- Quote a few positive reviews, listing the source, on your patient intake forms or information brochures.
- Post a sign in your waiting area saying that you value patient feedback, whether in person, by phone, email, or via online forums.
- Link to positive content on your practice’s website.
- Send follow-up emails encouraging patients to provide feedback.
Tip 3: Engage an online reputation management (ORM) service
If you find yourself in the midst of a negative media storm, the self-help approaches above may not be sufficient to resolve your negative content.
Even if a website agrees to edit or remove an article, someone may have reposted the earlier, defamatory version on his or her blog.
In this case, you’ll probably need to enlist professional help.
First, it makes sense to employ a monitoring service that will alert you to any new developments in your internet reputation.
You’ll want to know if and when someone reposts negative content and if new, derivative attacks appear in response.
This is an important step in how doctors can manage negative content online. However, online review management and online reputation management can be time-consuming tasks. Using a professional service will save you the time and expense of doing everything yourself as most of the issues you’re facing are issues that we deal with daily.
Next, you’ll need to create a large body of positive content to outweigh the negative.
Using these tools, even defamatory articles in major newspapers can be made to fade into the distance.
If you want to get a great look at what the internet is telling people about your practice or you, grab your free reputation report card. It’s a powerful resource for auditing your online reputation, enabling you to instantly find out exactly how people view you online.