In today’s internet age, customer reviews are everywhere. Book a holiday and you’ll find yourself scouting through traveller feedback on Trip Advisor. Head to download some music and you’ll be presented with a raft of user reviews. Go online to do some Christmas shopping and you’ll no doubt come across some kind of star rating and ‘real’ review. The fact is that customer reviews are everywhere and, most importantly, they really do matter to the majority of people.

Shoot for the stars

The healthcare sector isn’t any different to the retail, travel or the entertainment industry when it comes to reviews. Indeed, a recent study by Software Advice revealed that 62% of patients use online reviews to find a new GP practice. That means practices that aren’t building positive reviews and ratings on NHS Choices may be losing out on some new patients.

We often hear practice managers chatting about bad reviews and how to handle them and many surgeries on NHS Choices have no more than a 3-star rating. However, given the small number of reviews most practices have, adding a handful of 5-star ratings would see overall scores shoot up and help practice reputations to soar. So how can practices aim high and obtain brilliant ratings?

If you don’t ask…

Sadly it tends to be human nature to shout loudest when service has been poor. That means practices generally need to ask patients for positive reviews. If a GP or a receptionist knows they have given great service, why not give the patient a flyer outlining how to leave a review for the practice? Loyal, longstanding patients who know and trust you already may not have thought to look at your online reviews. If you remind them that reviews are valuable to your practice and ask them to write something, they’ll often be more than happy to help you out.

Practices that are successful in obtaining multiple positive reviews, told Practice Index that the following work wonders:

Spread the load: Reviews should appear organically over time – a host of positive reviews appearing at the same time can look suspicious – and review-savvy consumers will smell a rat. Therefore ask patients for them periodically to ensure a steady stream of feedback.

Speak to regulars: The best reviews say something substantial and regular patients are more likely to provide a thoughtful and genuine opinion.

Talk about reviews in your marketing: Signage in your reception area or waiting room can be useful in reminding patients to review you. Also consider mentioning reviews on material available to your patients and in email signatures, and don’t be afraid to display reviews on your website. Reviews tend to snowball over time.

Don’t fake reviews: Resist the urge to call your friends and family members to solicit positive reviews. Seasoned web surfers can spot a fake from a mile away.

Fear not and use reviews

A number of GP practices tell us they are wary of asking patients for feedback for fear of generating a negative response. However, the Software Advice study mentioned above found that patients were savvy enough to disregard reviews that they considered exaggerated or extreme. In fact, 34% of respondents cited “exaggerated reviews” as the primary reason they would disregard a review, indicating that patients are adept at sorting a valid complaint from an overreaction.

Even negative reviews provide opportunities. It’s worth remembering that reviews aren’t just about boosting ratings. With a good feedback system, you can increase your understanding of what patients think about your practice, understand areas of concern and take action to transform the experience for patients. You can make changes and use the system to monitor patient reaction, gradually improving the practice based on accurate feedback, not guesswork.

One practice manager told us: “NHS Choices is a vital voice for my patients. When patients leave my surgery I don’t know what they thought about me, the nurses, the medical assistants, whether there was enough parking or whether the magazines in the waiting room were up to date. We’ve worked hard to encourage detailed, information-filled reviews by handing out flyers to patients and even negative scores have provided us with guidance. We’ve made changes and automatically our review scores have increased. It’s a win-win.”

Responding to reviews is a good idea. On NHS Choices, as the service provider you can either post a reply to each comment or alert the moderator about any concerns you have. Many practices have used the feedback facility as an opportunity to celebrate success or review their processes. For more information, read the NHS Choices comments policy. When replying try to respond personally to each rather than copying and pasting a standard message. That way it will look like you really care.

Finally, we leave you with a trio of practices that all have multiple positive reviews. A quick read through these should provide some food for thought and help you reach for the stars.

http://www.nhs.uk/Services/GP/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=36738

http://www.nhs.uk/Services/GP/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=41421

http://www.nhs.uk/Services/GP/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=36341

Have you successfully built up the number and quality of your reviews? Let us know how you did it by commenting below or discuss it to the Practice Index Forum here. 

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