How to manage HealthGrades reviews
The percentage of people expecting responses to their online reviews is steadily on the rise. In fact, many studies have found that over 50% of reviewers are now expecting responses within several days of their posts.
While responding to positive reviews is easy—a genuine thank-you message works well—knowing what to do when you’re faced with a negative review, or even a fake review, is an equally important part of your online reputation management.
Negative reviews
Getting a negative review can be tough, but there are two great paths you can take.
First, if you believe a review violates HealthGrades Community Review Guidelines, you’ll actually be able to flag it to be reviewed and potentially taken down by the platform. Violations include particularly hateful, vulgar, misleading, or discriminatory language.
Second, if the HealthGrades review is not in violation, respond as professionally and objectively as possible, since arguing or aggressively defending yourself will only drive potential patients away. Always show respect for the reviewer’s opinion and show that you’ve taken it into consideration. In addition, it’s always good practice to thank negative reviewers for their feedback.
Remember that even if your patient is spewing information about their treatment on the web, it’s best not to address their specific case directly on HealthGrades. This will ensure that you stay in compliance with HIPAA. If the contents of a review require you to mention additional details to further the conversation, respond generally and take the interaction offline.
Fake reviews
If you receive a HealthGrades review that you believe to be fake, you can flag the review to the company by selecting the “Flag Comment” button at the top right-hand corner of the review. False reviews are a violation of HealthGrade’s guidelines and can be taken down.
However, we do recommend providing as much detail as possible about the reasons for your suspicions when prompted in the flagging process. If a review seems pretty legitimate and HealthGrades doesn’t have solid evidence, their hands can be tied.
