Are You Monitoring and Maintaining Your On-Line Reputation?
As many doctors know, there are numerous opportunities for patients to post comments about their doctors on-line. While this ought to be a good thing, it has also given people the opportunity to say whatever they want about you and your office. This is even more concerning in light of the fact that most of the postings are completely anonymous. I say “people” not “patients” because there is no requirement that someone posting information about a doctor be a patient. It could be a patient or patient’s family member, it could be a friend of the patient, it could be you, or it could even be your biggest competitor and bitterest rival.
Essentially, anyone can post anything about you, good or bad, often without any apparent accountability.
The overwhelming majority of patients are happy with their doctors and their doctor’s offices. These patients are not the ones you worry about. It is the patients that are not happy that you need to worry about. They might just think your fees are too high, or think that you hardly spent any time with them. They might be mad that one of your staff members was not polite to them or that they had to wait too long in your reception room. Of course they might have legitimate complaints about your staff or the care provided too. Regardless of the legitimacy of the patient’s complaint, you need to be aware of this not just in your office, but also what is being said about you online.
Without a doubt, many of your potential and current patients are looking you up on-line to see what is being said about you. Therefore, you need to be checking the on-line rating websites too to see what is being posted about you. A simple Google search will often bring up several doctor rating websites and you can see what your potential patients are seeing when they Google you. Doctors are often surprised by what they find.
If your ratings are poor due to unfair, negative postings, you do have options? Nasty letters to the websites and threats of law suits are generally not an effective option in these situations. But there are simple things you can do. Many of these rating websites allow you to post a response. A professional and reasoned response may completely discredit a negative rating. In addition, you can also develop a system for encouraging your happy patients to post positive ratings and comments to offset any negative ratings.
If you would like additional information on this subject or other Healthcare Law Topics you may view Mr. Bluestein’s website www.bluesteinlaw.com or contact Mr. Bluestein directly at (303) 880-4998 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Nothing contained in this Blog post should be considered legal advice for any individual. If you have specific legal questions you should contact a knowledgeable and experienced Healthcare Attorney. You may contact Mr. Bluestein directly at (720) 204-5480 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Tel: (720) 204-5480
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