Healthcare industry

Are Negative Reviews Hurting Your Medical Practice?

In an industry based on trust, a health care organization’s reputation is its most valuable asset. For those in rendering patient care services, online reputation plays a crucial role. This is because -

Patients are using social media platforms to communicate
The continuous rise of the number of “rating sites” is increasing to submit reviews
Additionally, online reporting and sharing feedback is easy and quick in real time

According to a study, 47% of the patients believe in the reputation of the doctor while selecting a healthcare provider and 35% of patients read online reviews before choosing a doctor or physician.

Online Reputation Management for Healthcare Industry

Online reviews are an important part of the healthcare industry. According to studies, 95% individuals research their doctors or physicians before making their first appointment. A negative blog post, social media blurb or any negative review by a patient can create an immense havoc on doctor's online presence and also to the healthcare setting; he/she is working in. That's where online reputation management comes in and plays a vital role in improving the reputation of a medical practice.

A strong online reputation management can help you promote your practice while eliminating all the effects of negative posts on your image. Reputation management is an integral part of social media marketing strategy that can do wonders for your reputation, your practice and the patients you serve.

Background

The client is a large and well-renowned orthopedic facility in seven different locations across two states. It provides the best healthcare services and has a huge clientele with more than 500 site visits per day. It has a team of highly qualified and licensed orthopedic surgeons known for assisting patients with the best of their skills.

Problem

In 2011, this orthopedic setting suffered defamatory attacks from their rivals who posted negative reviews about their services on several powerful websites. This led to a serious damage to their reputation and greatly lowered their ROI. Despite their efforts, they were neither able to retain their existing patients nor increase the number of new patients.

Solution

What we did for the client -

First, we differentiated other health care organizations from the rest of the competition
We developed public education campaigns to educate and support community wellness
Established platforms to connect with patients and other professionals of the same field
Influenced new patients with a website & professional business listings
Monitored all the reviews and posts shared by the patients
Complete social media management for the practice
In addition, we focused the majority of our efforts on content marketing, expanding the catch basin for their target customers.

In order to improve the online reputation of the orthopedic facility, we implemented various ORM strategies, including –

Blogs: Blog writing on current, newsworthy topics, as well as medical advances to inform and inspire the readers.
Press Releases (PR): Targeted media syndication efforts to help the practice gain recognition in its key markets.
Reputation Management: Trustworthy, ongoing screening of online reviews and initiatives to monitor patient feedback and positively affect the ever-expanding image-making machine.