After polling healthcare practices in 2018 to understand how they approach the challenges of online reputation management, we turned our focus to the patient perspective.
PatientPop asked 839 people about online reputation in general and patient reviews specifically. We wanted to know what role reputation plays when patients research and ultimately select a provider. We also wanted insight into the online sources they rely upon when looking for care and whether they’ve posted reviews of their experience with providers.
With insights from this survey, we can begin tracking trends in patients’ online habits and their level of reliance on reviews. More important, healthcare providers can see the value — and urgency — in maintaining a strong reputation and addressing feedback as a key component of patient satisfaction.
Key findings
- 74.6% of people have looked online to find out about a doctor, a dentist, or medical care. (Tweet this!)
- 57.1% of people go online sometimes or often to look for care. (Tweet this!)
- When choosing a healthcare provider, 69.9% of people consider a positive online reputation to be very or extremely important. (Tweet this!)
- 51.8% of patients who’ve submitted negative feedback had not been contacted by the practice to address their concerns. Of patients 45 and older, 72.7% were not contacted. (Tweet this!)
- When a patient’s negative feedback is addressed by the practice, the rate of patient satisfaction roughly doubles, increasing 99%. (Tweet this!)
- Patients 30-44 are the most active age group when looking for providers (85.8%), checking reviews (65%), and posting a review (40.3%). (Tweet this!)
Read the full report
Get your copy of The patient perspective 2019: Online reputation
Questions
How patients use online resources to evaluate healthcare providers
- Which online resources help form your opinion of a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
- Which online resources contribute to your decision when choosing a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
- When you choose a doctor or dentist, how important are positive patient reviews and a strong star rating?
Reading and posting online patient reviews
- On which websites have you posted a review of a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
- On which websites are you most likely to look for reviews of healthcare providers?
- Have you ever posted a negative review of a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
How providers respond to patient reviews
- Did the practice contact you to address the concerns expressed in your review?
- How satisfied were you with how they addressed your concerns?
Asking for patient feedback
- Do any of your healthcare providers ask for your feedback?
- If your healthcare providers ask for feedback, what methods do they use?
How patients use online resources to evaluate healthcare providers
In our survey, we found that three out of four people (74.6%) have looked online to find out about a doctor, a dentist, or medical care and that nearly six in 10 (57.1%) will go online sometimes or often to look for care.
To understand which online resources are favored most by patients, we asked two related questions. Respondents could select all options that apply. We then asked about the importance of positive reviews.
Which of the following help form your opinion of a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
Which contribute to your decision when choosing a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
When you choose a doctor or dentist, how important are positive patient reviews and a strong star rating?
Results summary
When searching for a provider, patients rely on the same three online resources, in the same order of preference, when first forming an opinion about a provider and then selecting one for care:
- Online patient reviews
- Information on third-party websites such as Google, Facebook, Yelp, Vitals, and Healthgrades
- The practice website
When choosing a healthcare provider:
- 59% of people use online reviews as part of their process. 65% of patients ages 30-44 say online reviews help form their opinion of a provider, more than any other age group.
- 69.9% of people consider positive patient reviews to be very or extremely important.
Reading and posting online patient reviews
More than one-third of patients have posted reviews of a provider or practice. To take a closer look at where they post and read reviews, we asked the following questions.
On which of these websites have you posted a review of a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider?
On which websites are you most likely to look for reviews of healthcare providers?
Have you ever posted a negative review of a doctor, dentist, or other provider?
Results summary
Google is the top website choice for patients reading and posting online reviews. Nearly half (48.8%) of patients look for reviews of healthcare providers on the site. Of those who post online reviews, 41.2% have done so on multiple websites.
The 30-44-year-old age group, the most active in reading online reviews, also has more patients posting reviews (40.3%) than any other group.
Although WebMD is not a Top 5 choice for posting reviews (only 13.6% of patients), the site is far more popular for those reading reviews, finishing second behind Google, and read by about one-third of patients.
How providers respond to patient reviews: Online reputation management in action
With this survey, we found that patients who express dissatisfaction are more likely to respond positively after a practice reaches out to address the situation.
To see how often providers take an active role in responding to feedback and reviews, and how that affects patient perception, we asked the following questions to patients who had submitted negative reviews.
Did the practice contact you to address the concerns expressed in your review?
(To those contacted) How satisfied were you with how they addressed your concerns?
Results summary
More than half (51.8%) of patients say their negative feedback is not addressed by the practice.
When a patient who posts a negative review is contacted by the practice, they are satisfied by the process 60.3% of the time. They come away dissatisfied fewer than 1 in 5 times.
Of the four age groups surveyed, 30-44 year-olds are most often contacted by a provider following a negative review, 69.2% of the time.
When compared to the satisfaction of all patients posting negative reviews, the rate of satisfaction roughly doubles, increasing 99%. The rate of dissatisfaction drops 59%.
The first step in online reputation management: Asking for feedback
For healthcare practices, there are myriad benefits in receiving patient feedback. For example, practices can build upon their online reputation, providers and staff can understand areas of improvement, and patients can feel heard.
Of course, it’s difficult to receive any patient feedback without asking for it. These final two questions inquire how frequently and via what method patients are invited to share their experiences.
Do any of your healthcare providers ask for your feedback?
(If yes) What methods do they use?
Results summary
According to patients in our survey, fewer than half of healthcare providers (45.5%) are proactively asking their patients for feedback.
The digital options have widely varying usage rates for providers. More than one-half of patients (54.7%) who were asked for feedback receive their requests via email. Only 12.4% get requests via text message.
Takeaways
The majority of people are checking online resources when looking for providers, and most of those people place a strong value on patient reviews. Yet, too many healthcare practices are ignoring these growing trends: Most don’t ask for patient feedback, and most don’t respond when that feedback is from a dissatisfied patient.
Among age demographics, patients ages 30-44 emerge as the most active when it comes to searching for care online, using patient reviews to form opinions of providers, and posting reviews. Providers interested in targeting this age group, especially, need to focus their efforts on online reputation management.
When patients of any age share their opinions and experiences about healthcare providers online, most reviews are positive. Therefore, medical and dental practices, especially those in highly competitive markets, should take action to encourage more patients to share feedback.
Methodology
Results for the 2019 patient perspective survey were gathered via a nationwide online survey of 839 people conducted February 7-8, 2019. Respondents are 54.4% female and have representation across four age groups: 18-29, 30-44, 45-60, and >60. Responses were obtained via a SurveyMonkey audience program, and participants were not excluded at any point by way of a screening question.
