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MEDICAL PRACTICE
STRATEGIES & ISSUES

to the patient in an office setting will allow you to thoroughly stands the constraints that are placed on physicians in responding
understand their feedback and propose productive solutions. to online reviews. We’ve had several incidents reported to TMlT
Sometimes, patients will remove negative reviews after a face-to- in which a social media company told the practice how to respond
face conversation, and may even post a positive review to show to a review, and the suggested response was a violation of HIPAA.
the practice is listening. Other companies may offer to post reviews on behalf of physi-
2. If you choose to respond to the complaint, reply with something cians. but where do these reviews come from? It is unethical and
general that moves the discussion offline. “At our medical prac- dishonest to post reviews on these sites that are not from actual pa-
tice, we strive to provide the highest levels of patient satisfaction. tients. Physicians are held to a different standard than other busi-
However, we cannot discuss specific situations due to patient pri- nesses and posting fake patient reviews is problematic.
vacy regulations. If you are a patient and have questions or con- Of course, it is acceptable to ask patients to review you. Contact
cerns, please contact us directly at [phone number].” patients (through their preferred, HIPAA-approved method) after
3. One bad review will not destroy your reputation. People who their visit and encourage them to let you know how you’re doing. The
browse online reviews typically do not consider one bad review next time you receive a thank you note or email from a patient or
as representative of the practice. 5 family member, encourage that person to post their comments on
your website, on your linkedIn profile, or on physician rating sites.
What you CANNOT do
1. Respond immediately. Wait and respond in a measured, produc- Gracie Awalt can be reached at gracie-awalt@tmlt.org.
tive way. Laura Hale Brockway can be reached at laura-brockway@tmlt.org.
2. disclose any information about the patient. Even acknowledging
that the reviewer is a patient is a violation of HIPAA.
3. Ignore criticism. Instead, take criticism as an opportunity to im-
prove your practice or your policies from the patient’s point of FURTHER READING
view.
TMLT article — “Online reputation management
4. Avoid online reviews. Most online reviews are positive and pro-
for physicians”
vide positive information. 5
TMLT podcast — “Survival guide to social media
If you use a reputation management company and reputation management”
Many physician practices use outside vendors to manage their so-
cial media presence and help respond to online reviews. There are TMLT CME course — Online Reputation
hundreds of companies offering these services; however, physicians Management for Physicians (2nd edition)
are urged to be cautious when choosing a reputation management
company. AMA article — How to respond to bad
online reviews
Make sure the company has experience in health care and under-

Sources
1 dental Practice Pays $10,000 to Settle Social Media disclosures of Patients’ Protected Health Information. Press Release. U.S. department of Health
& Human Services. October 2, 2019. Available at https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2019/10/02/dental-practice-pays-10000-settle-social-media-dis-
closures-of-patients-phi.html. Accessed december 2, 2019.
2 Resolution Agreement. U.S. department of Health & Human Services. September 30, 2019. Available at https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/elite-
dental-ra-cap.pdf. Accessed december 2, 2019.
3 What every physician needs to know: About online reputation management. Texas Medical liability Trust website. Available at
https://hub.tmlt.org/slideshare/what-every-physician-needs-to-know-about-online-reputation-management. Accessed december 2, 2019.
4 brockway, lH. Online Reputation Management for Physicians. TMlT blog. October 3, 2013. Texas Medical liability Trust website. Available at
https://hub.tmlt.org/tmlt-blog/online-reputation-management-for-physicians. Accessed december 2, 2019.
5 Henry, TA. How to respond to bad online reviews. American Medical Association. September 2, 2016. Available at https://www.ama-assn.org/deliv-
ering-care/patient-support-advocacy/how-respond-bad-online-reviews. Accessed december 2, 2019.

Reprinted with permission from Texas Medical liability Trust.

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