Competition for healthcare dollars has always been tight, but as budgets decrease, patients are more intentional about how they are choosing a provider. 86% of people surveyed for Solv’s 2023 State of Patient Engagement Report say that online reviews play a significant role in how they choose their providers.
The urgent care industry is well aware of the importance of online reviews for growing their business, however as patient demands shift it can be harder to navigate best practices.
The key to getting good reviews in both quantity and quality is creating a patient experience that exceeds expectations and making it seamless for a patient to leave feedback.
Here are four best practices to create a 5-star review process——
Enhance Your Digital Front Door
First impressions are crucial, and they come much earlier than most realize. Before patients arrive at your clinic, they have already started forming opinions about your practice through the brand presence and reputation you have built, physical and online. Most often, a patient’s first experience is online, which makes your digital front door even more critical in 2023. The advisory firm IDC defines the digital front door as “all the touchpoints where providers and payers can digitally interact with patients or members to drive better access, engagement, and experiences across the service continuum
The digital front door includes several things:
- Website Properties
- Online Booking Access Points
- Directory & Service Profile Pages
- Organic and Paid Marketing
- Review & Social Sites
- Location & Map Services
- Patient Portals
Presenting an easy-to-navigate digital experience allows patients to feel in control of their healthcare. On the other hand, if it’s hard to make a visit booking without calling or walking in with an unknown wait time, patients may feel discouraged and go elsewhere.
Optimize Staff Experience
Your staff is the first in-person experience of your brand who a patient interacts with. Staff who feel supported from the time they interview are able to care for patients more effectively.
One way to enhance staff experience is by providing them tools to save them time on administrative tasks, so they can focus on patient care and communication. By eliminating or speeding up the registration processes youcreate a more hospitable work environment.
- Online availability and self-scheduling—answering the phone to book a visit takes a lot of time. When patients can self-schedule online, it frees staff to be present with their clientele in the building.
- Digital registration—When patients can digitally register before their visit, or quickly upon check-in, it streamlines workflows for staff, saving staff time on data entry.
- EHR integration—utilizing tools that automatically integrate into existing EHR systems saves time by eliminating redundant data entry.
Focus On Patient Experience
We know that patients want fast and convenient access to care and that leading urgent care providers are those who can meet these demands through same-day/next-day online availability and a seamless in-person experience.
Utilize SMS Capabilities
While many patients may enjoy their experience and could quickly leave feedback, the barrier to leave an online review often prohibits them. By offering a low friction way to leave a review via SMS, your practice can prompt a review right after the patient’s visit that can be completed in a matter of a few clicks.
Custom SMS messages are valuable tools for extending the patient experience–you can use them to send patients post-visit follow up messages, available bills, or send links to view HIPAA-compliant lab results. The best time to solicit a review is a few hours after a visit when the glow of great service still shines, but they have had time to get back home and fill their prescription if necessary.
For example, at Solv we’ve seen with simple custom SMS templates like the below, average partners grow their review by 3X.
- Thank you for visiting us at UrgentCareX. We hope you’ll be feeling better very soon. Do you have any feedback for your provider today? Please let us know what we did right and how we can improve by leaving a review here.
Once you have quality reviews, leverage them for further success. If the reviews are positive, use them in future marketing or display them on screen in the office to encourage your team.
If you receive a negative review, respond quickly but stay compliant to HIPAA and PHI regulations. It’s important to never disclose patient identifiers in your response, and always show empathy even if you believe what is posted doesn’t reflect facts. Provide the reviewer information on where to reach your customer service or management team. Follow up with the patient via a sincere phone call, and loop in your medical director if the complaint involves any element which involves how care was rendered.
Review management is a vital component to your reputation management and online presence. Showing patients you take feedback seriously and are respectful to all types of feedback is a key to success.
Key Takeaways
- Online reviews are a powerful component in attracting new patients
- A strong digital front door and online presence matters for overall patient experience
- Staff experience and patient experience are closely related
- Prioritize quick access to enhance patient experience
- Increase your reviews with SMS followup
Did you know the average Solv partner increases Google reviews 3X within first month? Want to learn more contact us!
