As neurosurgeons, we are aware that our patients go online to get their health information and sometimes choose their surgeon. A 2012 study showed that 59% thought physician online rating sites were “somewhat” or “very” important when choosing a physician (David A. Hanauer, 2014). Furthermore, among those who sought online reviews, 35% reported selecting their physician based on having positive reviews and 37% avoided physicians with lower ratings (David A. Hanauer, 2014). Online reviews have been shown to have no correlation with quality outcomes (Okike K, 2016) or other more rigorous forms of patient satisfaction scores (Press Ganey) (R. Jay Widmer, et al., 2018).
While most of us care about our reputations, we don’t spend much time actively managing it. Here we provide some tips for getting started:
- BE PRO-ACTIVE:
- Google yourself once/month or set up an alert system for common search engines with your name or keywords
- Verify that all your credentials and contact information is correct on the most popular physician review websites (PRW) such as: Healthgrades, Vitals.com, yelp, Ratemds
- If possible, provide links to web resources with more complete and accurate information such as Doximity and Linkedin
- Check Google listings to ensure no one has coopted your profile (such as a local hospital or other unrelated clinic) and that your address, phone numbers, and operating hours are correct.
- Consider utilizing a reasonably priced service that collects patient reviews and provides useful, real-time feedback on your reputation and patient visits
- CREATE YOUR OWN NARRATIVE:
- Ask patients to complete an after-visit survey with an option to leave a testimonial
- Create your own blog, webpage, or social media profile. Use this to share more information about your professional achievements, publications, educational resources, and patient testimonials
- Discuss with your institution the possibility of sharing with patients vetted physician-specific Press Ganey Scores
- DON’T SWEAT BAD REVIEWS:
- Remember that negative online comments are ubiquitous but unfortunately usually difficult to remove.
- Avoid getting angry online and engaging in a discussion with the patient publicly; however, you can respond in a meaningful way if necessary. Do NOT be defensive as this will likely create more conflict.
- In instances where a comment is libelous, threatening or blatantly inaccurate, you can ask the service to remove it. On the other hand, if the review is by a patient who never visited your practice, consider contacting customer service on the website.
- SEEK PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE:
- Consulting firms exist that can assist with public relations activities, help you manage search engine reviews and build blogs/social media profiles. They can also help you manage negative reviews and provide useful online feedback regarding your social media reputation as well as patient traffic and even payer mix.
- Many university departments have staff dedicated to managing online presence; alternatively, ask a friend or colleague who has a web presence. You should have in mind what aspect of your practice and or personality you wish to present ahead of time.
In summary, we as neurosurgeons need to acknowledge that our online reputation is becoming increasingly important based on generational changes in our patients and the democratization of technology. It is important to monitor one’s reputation. While we can’t eliminate all negative comments, we can take steps to portray a more well-rounded version of ourselves to the public.
Works Cited
David A. Hanauer, M. M. (2014). Public Awareness, Perception, and Use of Online Physician Rating Sites. JAMA, 734-735.
Okike K, P.-B. T. (2016). Association be- tween physician online rating and quality of care. J Med Internet Res. , e324.
R. Jay Widmer, M. P., Matthew J. Maurer, M., Veena R. Nayar, M., Lee A. Aase, M., John T. Wald, M., Amy L. Kotsenas, M., . . . and Sandhya Pruthi, M. (2018). Online Physician Reviews Do Not Reflect Patient Satisfaction Survey Responses. Mayo Clin Proc., 453-457.
