Best

Practices
Making the Internet Work for You

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

The Internet is a double-edged sword. When utilized correctly, it provides a wellspring of

information that can propel your business to new heights. But, like many tools, if

mismanaged, it will not perform for you. Worse, it may even end up hurting your

business.

For example, with over 90% of new patients looking for their next health care provider on

the Internet, the ability for people to easily nd your listings online is critical. And, once

they nd you, it is equally important that you portray the true quality of the services you

provide in order to attract the right patients to your practice.

The great majority of patients utilize online reviews to help them decide which practice

is right for them. Patients are motivated to visit a practice (or avoid a practice) by the

stories that other patients post about their experiences. These stories may take the form

of a short testimonial, a long-form review, or even a video.

For years, practices have engaged their patients to share their experiences. Not only do

patients provide advocacy, but they also serve as a source of feedback. The best

practices utilize the feedback to identify de ciencies and improve their practice.

If you haven’t been collecting feedback from patients, it is likely that they have shared

their stories online already, and you may not even be aware of it. For example, patients

may submit reviews to a multitude of online review sites, either singing your praises or

criticizing your performance.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

If you are interested in developing the best possible practice, it is incumbent on you to

be aware of this feedback and engage patients to obtain more feedback. In many cases,

practices get involved in the patient feedback process only after they have been made

aware of negative feedback.  At this point, damage has already been done.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how good you are or how well you are liked... If you are in

clinical practice you will eventually have a  dissatis ed patient post a negative review

about you.

And, no matter what the so-called “Reputation Management” services tell you, the

chances are that no matter what you do, no matter how much you spend, no matter how

much time you  invest, it is highly unlikely that you can  have this negative

information removed from the Internet.

Fortunately, there is a solution...

The daily use of monitoring and prevention techniques enable  leading practices to

enhance their practice  and see more patients. The good news is, when you implement

these techniques you not only improve your practice, you reduce your risk for negative

feedback to appear online. And, if you'd like, you can do all of this yourself without

spending any money.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

STEP 1 - Monitor Your Online Brand

Google provides a free service where you can set up  an "Alert" or  noti cation for any

keyword. Google will notify you whenever they  nd a website or document that contains

the keywords. You can set up keywords with your name and the name of your practice.

Each day, Google will email you the results from its automated searches. Simply click on

the link in the email to view the full listing.

You should also make sure your brand is represented across the internet correctly. You

may be  surprised to learn that many sites have incorrect information  regarding your

practice location and phone number. It would be a shame for a patient to try to contact

you using the wrong information. 

One way to quickly check this information is to “Google” your name and the name of

your practice. Visit each of the websites  that are displayed and verify that their

information is correct.  When you nd inaccurate information, contact the site

and request that your address and phone number be updated.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Another option is to use one of the many free Site Checker tools found on the internet.

After you enter your name, address and  phone number, the tool will alert you to the

directory sites that contain inaccurate information about your listing. Many of the sites

enable you to update the listed information at no charge.

STEP 2 - Monitor the Rating and Review Sites

There are a number of different types of rating and review sites.  Some, such as

Healthgrades, only collect ratings. Others, such as  RateMDs, proclaim to be unbiased,

but clearly are not "friendly" to doctors - they have even removed positive reviews that

patients have posted. And some, such as Yelp, have even had lawsuits  led against them

for attempting to extort fees from doctors to remove anonymous negative reviews. A few

are doctor "friendly" and work hard to demonstrate a balanced viewpoint.

It is important to visit each of these on a regular basis and search  for your name. If a

good review is identi ed, contact the patient and thank them. Ask if they would also post

their review on other review sites.

If a negative review is identi ed, contact the patient privately to try  and rectify the

situation. In general, it is a bad idea to respond to online negative postings. It is also a

bad idea to suddenly ood review sites with positive reviews as this may be interpreted

as spam and result in your account being blacklisted.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

In some cases, negative reviews will be posted by an  "anonymous" user. In this  case,

unless you can identify the individual by the description provided, you may be out of

luck. Of course, you can try to contact the review site to ask for the review  to be

removed. But the review sites are protected from having any responsibility for

capitulating, and, in most cases, it is unlikely that you will have any success.

Note: Many of the review sites (notably, Yelp and Google) have a  grievance procedure

where you can request that a falsi ed review be removed. But, current experience shows

that the sites are unlikely to act even when compelling evidence is provided.

When a negative review is posted by an anonymous person (and  you are not able to

identify who they are), you may be able to respond in a way that shows you are receptive

to the feedback,  that you are humble, and that you genuinely care about

making  changes. For example, you can use a variation of one of the  following

responses:

“At the XYZ Center we strive for patient satisfaction. We would love the opportunity to

address your concerns. Please contact us and we will arrange to see you at your

convenience to discuss how we can help you.”

“It is with deep regret that I learned of your dissatisfaction. At the XYZ Center, our goal is

to help each patient achieve their goals. It would be our privilege to see you again to help

resolve your concerns. Your satisfaction is our ultimate goal.”

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

“Based on your feedback, we have implemented changes at the XYZ Center. While we

regret that you had a less than optimal visit, we take your concerns seriously. We invite

you to return for a completely different experience.”

Of course, if you do choose to respond, it is essential that you do not divulge any PHI

(Protected Health Information) and that you are compliant with HIPAA regulations. There

are several resources that can serve as a guide if you are interested in learning more

about optimal response techniques.

In rare cases, a doctor will actually be “attacked” online. In these cases, it is usually best

to avoid engaging the attacker. If you feel the need to respond, take a deep breath and

call for professional assistance.  Without objective guidance, you are likely to make

things worse. 

Our advice is that if you see one (or even a few) unfavorable reviews, don't get bent out

of shape or lose sleep over it. And  don't feel like you need to hire an attorney or

reputation management company for thousands (or tens-of-thousands) of dollars. The

best way to counter the presence of any negative review is to build a large number of

positive reviews to provide a fair and balanced picture of your performance.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

STEP 3 - Check Quality Assurance

You should have a Quality Assurance system setup in your practice. This is simple to do

and a highly effective method for  achieving reputation management. First, ask each

patient to complete a simple review form after each procedure.

The form is designed to collect some basic information that you can review, in aggregate

with other completed forms, to assess how you and your practice are performing.

The form can also collect a review that you can share with other patients. You can collect

a binder full of these and allow your patients to read through them while they are waiting

for their initial consultation with you.

Save the form in each patient's chart. In the event a patient is initially satis ed with the

outcome of their procedure but later becomes dissatis ed, showing them a copy of the

form, completed by them, with their signature, helps them “remember” that the last time

they communicated with you they expressed satisfaction.

Finally, save a copy of every form in a separate folder. In the event you are ever audited

by a state agency or the FTC, you will be able to show them your stack of reviews from

all your patients. 

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

You need to have this available because there are speci c  regulations regarding

advertising and marketing that the FTC will  enforce. Basically, you need to be able to

demonstrate that the  results you promote in your advertisements and marketing

are "typical results" that the "average person" can reasonably expect to achieve.

STEP 4 - Communicate with Patients

Ok, so this may seem obvious… You communicate with patients all the time. But you are

most likely communicating in a haphazard fashion. You need a system where you can

document your  communications and keep an audit trail. This helps to

avoid miscommunication and, in the event of any legal action, helps to show you were

involved in providing optimal care. A synopsis of  every phone call related to patient

satisfaction (happy patients  and not-so-happy patients) should be memorialized in

writing and shared with the patient. The most e cient way to do this is via email.

Unfortunately, standard email is not secure (copies may be  left on  every intermediate

server the email moves though) and, thus, is not HIPAA-compliant. Also, you should not

count on Facebook  messaging or other instant messaging technologies to provide

a HIPAA-compliant solution.

The good news is that there are a number of free secure  messaging applications

available that you can access. Check search engine listings for reviews of the currently

available applications to decide which one is right for your practice.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

STEP 5 - See More Patients Using Reviews

For many practices, especially those with a large percentage of elective surgery patients,

the Internet has become the #1 source for new patient consultations. And the two most

motivating factors that cause a patient to request a consultation are (1) good “before and

after” photographs, and (2) reviews from happy patients.

Because it is relatively easy  to leverage your reviews, you should have a  strategy for

displaying them whenever you receive new ones. But  rst, before you use any review

from a patient, make sure that you have obtained the patient's permission to use their

review in  writing. Also, you must verify that you are permitted to display  their name

along with the review.

Next, you should contact your website hosting provider and ask them to post the review

on your website. Please be aware that some website hosting companies charge for each

change you  make. Other companies enable the practice to make as many  changes as

desired without any additional fee.

Caution: In some regions in the US, notably New York and Texas, posting reviews on your

website is prohibited by law. In this case, it IS legal to use a third party rating system,

such as the Better  Business Bureau or Patient Approved®, to provide a link to

your patient reviews.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Next, post the review on your practice Facebook fanpage - you do have one, don't you?

There is no charge to set up  a Facebook  page and you can con gure it to lock-out

unwanted comments, so go for it! 

Facebook has over 1 billion users, so it is likely that many of your  patients (and their

friends - your future patients) are on Facebook.  Also, ask your patients to post their

review on Facebook. Although some won't do this, you will be surprised how many will.

And, since the average Facebook user has about 300 "friends", you are likely to receive

new patient consultation requests with each review posted.

Next, contact every directory listing site you work with to add to your list of reviews. Not

every directory site displays reviews, but  many do. It is probably a good idea to give

them a bunch of updated reviews all at once, rather than send reviews to them one at a

time.

Finally, don't forget to ask patients to personally post their reviews  on all of the rating

and review sites. It would be fantastic if each of your happy patients would take the time

to visit Yelp, Vitals, DexKnows, RateMDs, DoctorBase, Avvo, Wellness, Healthgrades, and

the rest of the rating and review sites to post their positive rating and review for you.

Did you recognize each of these sites mentioned? This is only a small list - please see

the end of this document for a more complete list. But be aware that the list is always

changing, with some sites gaining more prominence and popularity while others

become less relevant over time.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a satis ed patient, even a very happy patient, will post

their review about you on every rating and review site on the Internet - there are just too

many of these sites.  Ironically, a patient who is very unhappy is more likely to take

the  time to go to every review site and post their dissatisfaction. That  means, if you

haven't been asking your patients to post their positive experience, you may run into a

situation where a review  site has a very skewed or unbalanced ratio of positive vs.

negative reviews.

The best way to address this is to keep a list of the sites from STEP 2 above that need

balancing reviews, and ask your patients to post reviews on those sites. You can update

your request for future patients as you continue to monitor the sites.

By the way, don't succumb to the temptation to post the reviews to  the review sites

yourself. First of all, it's called "astrotur ng" and is  illegal -- nes have been levied

against companies for doing this  very thing. Secondly, most of the review sites have

technology that helps them to identify when a person is attempting to submit multiple

reviews. When this occurs, the sites have been known to disable posting of any positive

reviews. It is important to know that Yelp will display negative reviews but suppress the

display of positive reviews if they believe that your Yelp pro le is being manipulated.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

STEP 6 - See More Patients With Social Media

Social media sites are places where individuals can aggregate and interact. This is quite

different from a typical practice website that acts as a display advertisement and blog

sites that serve as a  type of diary or running newsfeed. Most of the directory/blog

sites, such as New Beauty, have developed a social twist where readers can interact with

authors. Of course, the best known social media site is the juggernaut, Facebook. One of

the most  popular social media sites speci c to health and wellness is  RealSelf. Other

niche oriented sites, such as "mommy" sites and  others, exist with a variety of social

tools.

In the past, many health care professionals have published  articles in peer review

journals. In addition to contributing to the general database of medical knowledge, this

was, and still is,  highly effective at enabling physicians to tout their credentials

and stand out from their peers. However, this type of writing does not engage a broad

base of consumers.

It turns out that practices that are seen as authoritative or as a  center of in uence on

social media sites are more likely to gather a loyal following of current and new patients.

In fact, regularly writing on social media sites and interactive blog sites has helped many

physicians spread their name and enabled them to expand  their patient base. So, it is

recommended that you regularly post  information on the major places where you are

found, or where you want to be found.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Make sure that you have a contact form on each social media site where you are posting.

When a patient is intrigued  by your writing,  you want to give them the opportunity to

contact you directly.

SUMMARY
You can certainly "Do It All Yourself" -- monitor the search engines, monitor the review

sites, ask patients to provide you with quality assurance feedback, obtain reviews from

patients, engage patients that are dissatis ed, ask happy patients to submit their reviews

across the Internet, post your reviews on your website, Facebook, and all directory listing

sites, and engage your patients across social media.

Of course, doing all of these tasks day-after-day becomes monotonous. Worse, it is a

highly ine cient use of time. While it may seem cost-e cient to do all of these tasks

yourself during "down time", you might want to consider if this is an optimal use of your

time or if you can be doing other tasks that have a greater impact on the growth of your

practice.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Work Smarter NOT Harder

Alternatively, you can use online tools to help you organize and facilitate  your efforts.

This is the smart way for you to enhance your practice and see more patients.

Speci cally, you can use the Patient Approved® system. It is the only system of its kind

designed by physicians for physicians to  focus on the special needs related to health

care practices.

Instead of manually performing the six steps above, the Patient Approved®  system

turns this into an automated four step system that creates a positive feedback loop to

help you enhance your practice and attract more

patients to your practice.

Speci cally, the Patient Approved® system monitors

the Internet and informs you of new postings that

may affect your reputation,  it stimulates new patient

consultations by showing your reviews  across all

websites you control, it publishes approved reviews  to the health-related rating and

review sites, it captures and sends new leads to you via e-mail or directly into your EMR

or lead management system, it creates a Facebook fan page tab for you, and more.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Patient Approved® Features…

Patient Survey  - When integrated with your other software systems (eg. EMR/EHR,

scheduling, etc) the Patient Approved® system can automatically request feedback from

all of your patients via email and text message (SMS). Additionally, practices can use the

Patient Approved®  tools such as the desktop application and Insights smartphone

application to request feedback from patients at any time. All feedback is aggregated in

one location for your review. Valuable metrics are collected enabling you to assess the

performance of your practice both historically and as benchmarked against other

practices.

The Patient Approved® Website Seal - consider this to be your "Good House-Keeping

Seal of Approval". You can have your  website company install the seal on the

"Homepage” of your website, or if you have a website that you can edit, you can quickly

install it yourself. Once installed, the seal will display the  number of stars you have

achieved along with the number of ratings that have been entered about you. The seal

enables patients to enter a request for a consultation which is sent to you via e-mail or

sent directly into your EMR or lead management system.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

The Patient Approved® Facebook Widget - this is an  application that is installed on

your practice page and displays all of your ratings and reviews for people who visit your

site. With just  a few clicks, the application will enable the display of your ratings  and

reviews on your Facebook page. The system also enables you  to gather new patient

consultations, all from within Facebook. Of course, the display of reviews is completely

under your control using the Patient Approved® application.

Website Widgets - these include the ability to display your reviews in a scrolling list on

any page of your website, display  your announcements in a scrolling list on your

website, place a contact form anywhere you desire, display videos on your website and

Facebook page. Also, you will have a personal link you can include on your website, in e-

mails to your patients, or in your newsletter that encourages patients to provide a rating

or review about you.

Review Promotion - when patients choose to share their review,  the Patient

Approved®  system automatically inserts a link back to  your website into the review,

then publishes the review to highly  visible sites, such as Facebook and Google. This

automatically harnesses the viral nature of social media.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Your Internet Score - this is a very helpful feature that is seen every time you login. Your

Internet Score is a weighted average of all the rating and review sites that have listings

about you. Your  score is updated regularly by the system to re ect your

current  information. You can improve your score by increasing the  number of positive

ratings and reviews available online. Note: the  rst time you log into the system, your

score may not be displayed. Patient Approved® is designed to only update information

related to users that have logged into the system, so it may take a few days before your

rst reviews and scores are updated.

Ratings Summary Panel - this is where you will nd a summary  of information about

you and your practice as seen on the major  rating and review sites. When new

information is found about you or your practice, it will present the reviews to you in your

personal dashboard. You can read the actual reviews in the privacy of your dashboard,

without having to visit each rating and review site.

When you read a positive review you will want to share that review across the Internet.

Simply choose the "Save" or "Publish" option and the system will help validate the review

for you. Once the validation process is completed, the system will automatically display

the review on any website, on your Facebook fan page, and any social media site where

you post a comment. 

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Publication Feature - If you have chosen to "Publish" a review, the system will syndicate

the review to all of the popular rating  and review sites for you. Syndication of reviews

requires that both the patient and practice request and authorize this process. Reviews

may also be published when they are obtained through  the network of participating

Patient Approved® vendors.

Secure Messaging System - When you identify a negative review, you may choose to

contact the patient using the secure  messaging system built into the Patient

Approved®  system. This  messaging system stores all messages in an encrypted

fashion,  reports when patients read their messages from you, enables you  to recall

unread messages, helps you keep track of resolved or unresolved issues, and prints an

audit trail for your chart. 

Reporting - The system provides you with a number of detailed reports that you can use

to monitor your performance, enhance  your practice, and educate your staff. You can

monitor trends in  your practice, identify de ciencies in need of remediation, and

nd areas of high performance that may justify recognition or reward. 

The Patient Approved® system helps you protect your reputation and see more patients.

Speci cally designed for your health care  practice, the system enables you to regain

control of your brand  on the Internet while simultaneously helping you book new

patient consultations.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

Health Care Rating & Review Sites*

measuredup.com  measuredup.com 

mydochub.com  mydochub.com 

demandforce.com  demandforce.com 

physicianreports.com  physicianreports.com 

dentalcenter.com  dentalcenter.com 

ratemds.com  ratemds.com 

dentalfearcentral.org  dentalfearcentral.org

revolutionhealth.com  revolutionhealth.com 

dentistdig.com  dentistdig.com 

suggestadoctor.com  suggestadoctor.com 

superpages.com  superpages.com 

dexknows.com  dexknows.com

ucomparehealthcare.com  ucomparehealthcare.com 

doctor.com  doctor.com 

consumerhealthratings.com consumerhealthratings.com

wellness.com 

doctorbase.org 

yelp.com 

doctoroogle.com 

doctorscorecard.com 

doctorsdig.com 

doctortree.org 

drscore.com 

findadoc.com 

google.com/maps 

healthcarereviews.com 

vitals.com

*This is a partial list as of the original date of this document. Some sites may no longer exist.

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC

 BEST PRACTICES

1. Visit http://login.PatientApproved.com 

2. Click the “New Account” link for a FREE account

3. Get the FREE smartphone app to monitor your practice 

4. Collect FREE Google reviews for your practice

5. Install your custom Patient Approved® website seal

6. Attend a complimentary training to learn more!

Questions? Call 800-216-5789 for assistance

Copyright 2021 by Patient Approved® - a series of Fantastic Companies, LLC