Healthcare and modern medicine are ever evolving, with leaps and bounds in technology transforming the space. Dentists have a unique opportunity to revolutionize their practices, too! And it all starts with feedback and patient reviews. It’s all about the internet these days, and that’s just not changing.
Harness the power of digital connections and communication when you build your presence online. Publicly available patient opinions carry significant weight. Patient experiences and testimonials greatly influence your practice’s reputation. They also affect your success as a healthcare provider and business owner.
Reviewing the power of reviews
Patient reviews offer dentists invaluable insights, so it’s essential to be strategic in encouraging people to leave more reviews–especially positive ones. Constructive criticism is significant, too, and all should be considered as you drive improvements and tailor the overall experience someone has at your practice.
This blog covers how you can harness the power of feedback. We’ll also talk a bit about:
- Why reviews matter
- Encouraging patients to speak up in review spaces.
- Specific ways to use the reviews you’ve gathered.
Patient feedback is a critical asset for dentists. It enables them to continually enhance services and reputation in the community. There are two crucial ways through which patient reviews significantly benefit your practice.
By embracing and encouraging patient reviews and leveraging the precious information they contain, dentists can embark on a journey toward a patient-centric, technologically advanced, successful practice!
The ‘Why”
Quite simply, knowledge is power. Patient feedback ensures quality improvement and patient satisfaction. The info you need all lies in the reviews.
- Quality Improvement: Specific survey questions can assess the patient’s treatment experience, helping dentists pinpoint areas for improvement in clinical care, hygiene protocol, follow-up communication, or staff interactions.
- Patient Satisfaction: By gathering data on patient comfort, pain management, and overall experience, dentists can fine-tune their services to maximize patient satisfaction.
Patient feedback is a critical asset for dentists because it enhances trust, acts as a referral magnet, and gives you a competitive advantage once you’ve shown you do indeed act on the given feedback.
Encourage review culture
Getting the reviews for your practice is especially important because it builds your online presence. People aren’t going to book with your clinic if they can’t read reviews or navigate your website. That’s why you need up-to-date, preferably positive reviews that appear on Google along with your easy-to-access site. Learn more about SEO practices and work with a webmaster to enhance your online presence.
Once you have that online presence firmly established, you have an easy way to encourage patients to leave reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, or another specialized healthcare review site. These sites are user-friendly and are an excellent opportunity to attract new patients!
Start with a patient survey. Specific survey questions can assess the patient’s treatment experience and help you pinpoint predefined areas for improvement. Giving a patient a series of survey questions or a rating system with categories can give them an easy framework through which to assess your practice. They might be intimidated by giving in person feedback. Sending a form over email or text along with a follow-up reminder makes it much easier for patients to just do the review right then and there.
Next, go through the surveys you receive and pick out any great testimonials that capture the patient experience in a positive way. Ask the reviewers to kindly post those to Google or other sites. You can also receive their permission to use their words on testimonials or patient experience sections of your website.
The power of online and in-person patient reviews!
Here are key points to encouraging review culture, online and in person.
- Provide clear instructions: Post-appointment, give your patients a small card with an easy-to-type link to your review form, and email clear instructions on how to leave an online review. Include di
- rect links to popular platforms as well.
- Social media engagement: Actively engage patients on social media platforms if you use them. Encourage them to share positive experiences or get their consent to share their feedback on your own platform. This helps you reach a broader audience.
Don’t forget about the power of being face-to-face, either. Some people may want to share their thoughts in person initially.
- Create a feedback-friendly atmosphere within your office. Encourage patients to let you know how they are doing during a visit. Leave time after the appointment for a quick chat or follow-up phone call a few days later. This is when you can also ask them to put their words online.
- Comment cards or tablets with your survey work wonders for those who want to take the time to review you right then and there. Offer these and a quiet space in which your patients can review you in a thoughtful manner.
By combining these strategies, dentists can effectively encourage patients to provide online and in-person reviews. This information can then be used to promote your practice and drive continuous improvement in patient care and services.
What to do with this wealth of information
You can grab onto the power of positive and constructive reviews and turn them into meaningful
improvements in patient care and overall experiences. Actively listening to patient feedback and using it as a catalyst for change means your practice can continually enhance your services.
Leverage positive reviews. Positive reviews highlight what patients appreciate. Acknowledge them with the patient to show that you are paying attention. Then, do more of it! Celebrate the strengths your patients value by rewarding staff and recognizing the hard work they do to get patient reviews. This will encourage more positive behavior, foster a sense of pride among your team, and make your practice a pleasant place for patients to visit.
If you receive a constructive review internally, you also want to address it. First, let the patient know you’ve heard their concern. Meet with your team to see how you can manage what may have gone wrong. Offer training for team members who want to change how they’re reviewed and for top performers who just want to get better.
Recognition without blame and with an eye toward improvement will spell success. Then, you can return to dissatisfied patients with tangible evidence that their next visit will be better and that you have really taken their review to heart.
Implement some best practices to keep review info flowing and to synthesize easier all the information you are receiving.
- Analyze, gather and organize your reviews regularly. Set aside a weekly or bi-monthly time dedicated to this task, and you’ll begin pinpointing recurring issues, positive patterns, or patient concerns.
- Prioritize issues: Categorize feedback based on urgency and impact. Prioritize critical areas for improvement regarding any negative reviews you receive. It’s essential to try and keep these negative reviews away from the public and have them remain internal. Or, if they are public—address them head-on in a polite and professional manner that communicates your concerns and future actions.
- Implement changes: Create a structured action plan for addressing identified issues. When you have clinical protocols, communication methods, and agreed-upon messaging surrounding reviews, you can rely on a step-by-step process toward improvement. This can also detail physical or environmental changes you might want to address in your practice space.
- Monitor progress: Use online tools and organizational structures to track implemented changes and continually monitor reviews for signs of improvement.
- Communicate changes: Talk to your team and your patients! Let them know you’re working with their feedback and always responding to their needs. Transparency in the process builds trust and demonstrates to patients that their voices are heard and valued.
By consistently synthesizing review information and translating it into tangible, trackable changes, dental practices can demonstrate a commitment to patient-centered care.
How Intiveo can help
Intiveo’s tailor-made software can help you throughout the entire review process. Automated messaging, review prompts, and survey templates can all come in handy for gathering and publishing reviews.
Some of our clients have had great success in increasing patient reviews after working with Intiveo to implement patient engagement software.
Check out these testimonials and detailed case studies to hear directly from your colleagues about how Invtiveo is built to help you. Then, book a meeting with Intiveo experts! We are here to help you improve patient experiences and enhance your reputation.
