Better attention to customer service may be the best way to improve a healthcare practice's online reviews, according to study data released by Vanguard Communications, a healthcare marketing firm.
The study tapped into the Google+ reviews of businesses classified as "Doctor" in the Google Places API in order to get a picture of what drives patient complaints and compliments regarding their healthcare experiences. The findings suggest a mere 4 percent of complaints had anything to do with the quality of healthcare patients received, with the vast majority of complaints geared toward issues with communication and delays.
Such findings echo other surveys indicating a focus on patient satisfaction can help to drive positive reviews, in part because of the degree to which those reviews are driven more by patient perception than anything else.
The silver lining in the lack of correlation between care quality and positive reviews lies in the relative ease with which practices ought to be able to fix issues with poor reviews, according to Ron Harman King, Vanguard Communications' CEO. "Generally, it's far simpler to fix problems at the front desk or physician scheduling than to deal with allegations of inadequate medical skills," he said in an announcement accompanying the study's release. King went on to suggest doctors focus their efforts on reducing patient wait times.
The firm's other recommendations included improving communication channels to make it easier for patients to make appointments and ensuring staff members are attuned to creating and maintaining a positive patient experience throughout their visit.
To learn more:
- see the study synopsis
- read the announcement