Doctor Reputation Management

Online Reputation Management for the Healthcare Professional

Physician Quality Reporting as Patient-Based, Online Reviews Case Study: RateMDs.com

(founded in 2004)

Total number of physician ratings: 2005: roughly 3,000 2010: 368,559 100-fold increase in 5 years

Number of individual physicians w/ ratings: 2005: 2,475 2010: 112,042

Source

Researching Physicians• More and more potential

patients are using online reviews to research and choose their doctors

• 80% of new patient volume screened their doctors online in 2011

• 60% of those screening doctors online used specialized medical review sites (i.e. RateMDs, Vitals, Healthgrades)Source

Spreading Positive Reviews

Most online reviews on physicians and practices are positive: Average quality rating on

RateMDs is 3.93 out of 5 45.80% of physicians on

RateMDs received 5 out of 5

Online reviews/review sites are better, faster vehicles to spread positive reviews – a digital word of mouth – and generate new business

Source

Managing Negative Reviews

80 % of shoppers change purchasing decisions based on negative reviews

It does not take many negative reviews to harm a practice

“gag orders”, where doctors ask patients to promise not to discuss their treatment online, is ineffective

“If we are contacted by a doctor or dentist with a take-down notice based on a contract restricting the patient’s right to free speech, we will not honor the request”

~Chantelle Karl, Yelp! spokesperson

A Case Study• One Ambulatory Surgery Center

previously spent about $8,000 in advertising to get 5 out-of-network patients.

• Improving the reputation for six of fifteen doctors in the same ASC brought in 33 new out-of-network patients in less than four weeks.

• Source

Farris Timimi, M.D. on Social Media/Online Patient Reviews in HealthcareFarris Timimi, M.D. Interview

“We can reach people everywhere and bring shared interactions to all parts of our practice, that’s powerful.”

“This isn’t an addition to your job. This is part of your job… We are about the needs of our patients. This is where our patients are, and this is where their needs are going to be met most effectively.”

“The biggest pitfall to be frank, is to be so risk averse that you don’t participate… to not populate (your online presence) strategically.

Doctor Farris Timimi is a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and the Medical Director of Mayo Clinic’s Center for Social Media.

• Managing informative and accurate content about doctors and practices online to uphold digital reputation

• Create, optimize, and claim ownership of your physician profiles on Health Grades, Vitals, and RateMDs

• Create, optimize, and manage your practice’s profiles on Facebook, Google+, Yelp! And Google Local

• Post industry-relevant and engaging content on your Facebook and Google+ channels on a weekly basis

Set up an “appointment request” app on Facebook and track the number of monthly conversions

Monitor online medical reviews of you and your practice on the listed sites

Respond to comments and reviews on the listed sites

Provide you with a client tracking and reporting portal that’s accessible 24/7

Provide support and monthly reporting session via your dedicated account manager

Track and deliver timely, clear PDF reports on key data metrics

Google Local

Why Google Local?Most visible, important

face of your practice on Google

Important landing page for converting searchers into customers

People will visit Google Local profiles to research reviews on local practices

Mobile device friendly

Services Build, claim and/or optimize

a Google Local listing for practice Unique photos, office hours,

directions, practice summary, website link

Respond to 2 reviews posted before we take on practice

Respond to all reviews posted on Google Local

Request removal of inappropriate reviews

Facebook

Why Facebook?Most effective channel

to engage with patients and to showcase the culture and expertise of a practice

Effective in generating new referral business from current clients

Largest reach of any social network

Services Build and optimize a Facebook profile

Office Hours, Practice summary, website link, contact info

Optimize Facebook profile applications Photos, request appointments,

reviews, “likes”

Create and post 2 engaging comments per week i.e. positive reviews, articles related to

doctor’s specialty, local news, funny photos, employee birthday, events

Respond to comments posted on profile

Post additional content sent by client

Google+

Why Google+?Highly visible on your

practice’s branded search results

Becoming very important for SEO and lead generation

Showcase culture and expertise of practice

Services Build and optimize a

Google+ profile Office Hours, practice

summary, website link, contact information

Cross promote with Facebook to build larger audience

Respond to comments directed at the practice

Connect with everyone who connects with practice

Health Grades, RateMD’s, Vitals

Why?Among the most

trafficked channels where people go to research doctors online

Well-managed profiles will help the practice avoid losing new patient opportunities

Separate yourself from local competitors

ServicesBuild out, claim

ownership of, and optimize profiles

Respond to all future reviews on behalf of doctor

Share all positive reviews on Facebook profile

Provide doctor with monthly analysis of customer feedback

Yelp!

Why Yelp?One of the first 5 sites

that come up online for your practice

Highly integrated into search functions of Apple’s mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets and “phablets”

People visit Yelp! To research reviews on local practices

ServicesBuild out, claim

ownership of, and optimize a Yelp! listing for practice

Respond to all future reviews and comments on behalf of practice

Share all positive reviews on Facebook profile

Results

Tracking Number of monthly visitors

each profile receives

Amount of website traffic that originated from each profile

Ranking of profiles on Health Grades & Vitals

Number of monthly reviews posted and responded to

Page 1 search results on Google for your practice

ReportingMonthly PDF reports

showing all key tracking data

Monthly phone conversation with practice to discuss results

Provide recommendations based on customer feedback