By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Healthcare Breakthroughs: 3 Ways to Improve Your Chances of Fighting Obesity
    September 22, 2017
    Bone Marrow Donation and Compensation: My Moral Dilemma
    December 11, 2013
    health problems caused by poor cleanliness
    5 Serious Health Problems Caused By Poor Cleanliness
    September 15, 2020
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How Does Your Medical Organization Handle Negative Feedback?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > How Does Your Medical Organization Handle Negative Feedback?
BusinesseHealth

How Does Your Medical Organization Handle Negative Feedback?

Jonathan Catley
Jonathan Catley
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Soliciting feedback — regardless of whether it’s positive or negative — is a great way to establish a more personal connection with your patients. Ping! An email comes in. You open it and your face drops. One of your patients just posted a negative review on your Facebook page. What do you do next? Your instinct may be to ignore or delete the review, but I assure you this is not the answer. Trying to silence negative reviews misses a valuable opportunity for us to connect with patients. It sends the message that you are more interested in covering up negative feedback than addressing it and improving your practice. Many of us in healthcare need to shift our perspective on public patient feedback. Social media marketing is about more than pushing out content. Social media platforms provide an opportunity for us to talk — and listen — to customers. So when we do get feedback, it means these platforms are working well. Negative feedback is not a threat to business or a personal attack; it is an opportunity to show your patients (and potential patients) not only that you listen, but that you are eager to improve their experience. Below are five tips to effectively manage online reviews:

Contents
1. Be Prompt2. Be Gracious3. Move the Conversation Offline4. Differentiating Between Trolls and Concerned Customers5. Ask For Reviews

1. Be Prompt

When a negative review appears, respond in a timely fashion. Creating a policy for responding to online reviews now will help you be prepared to handle the majority of reviews. Pull together important phone numbers and email addresses, and even write sample responses to common questions or complaints.

2. Be Gracious

Resist the urge to get defensive. Instead, address the reviewer’s concerns with professionalism and kindness. Post a public response thanking them for taking the time to share their experience, and apologize that their experience did not meet your standard of care. Your public response shows other members of that online platform that you care about feedback and that you are responsive to concerns expressed by your patients or their family members. Ultimately, that helps to deepen people’s connections with your brand.

3. Move the Conversation Offline

Once you have demonstrated your dedication to making the situation right, it’s best to move the conversation offline as soon as possible. Encourage the patient to contact the office so you can hear more about their experience and learn from it.

More Read

Follow the Need: The Global Fight Against Obesity
Can Technology Transform HealthCare?
The Myth of Patient-Centered Care
6 Apple Health Apps to Help You Stay Healthy
EHRs and Improper Billing: Should We Worry?

4. Differentiating Between Trolls and Concerned Customers

Unfortunately, there are some people who are determined to shock and upset others. It can be difficult to discern between trolls and upset customers. Pay attention to their motivation and tone. If the person is using explicit or inflammatory language, there’s a good chance you are dealing with a troll. No response will satisfy them — instead, they will use a response as an invitation to keep posting. Trolls want attention. No matter how difficult it might be, ignoring a troll could be your best tactic to get them to leave you alone. If someone uses profanity or harasses other users, consider deleting their comment(s) and blocking the account.

5. Ask For Reviews

The best way to prepare for a negative review is to actively encourage patients who have had positive experiences to post on various social media platforms and review sites. You might even print out instructions explaining how to do so. That way, any negative comments, though valuable, will seem inconsequential compared to the dozens of positive reviews.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

eHealthHealth careMedical DevicesMedical InnovationsNewsTechnology

Microsoft Aims to Transform Healthcare Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

October 2, 2017
Outsourcing_RCM
BusinessFinanceHospital Administration

Risks and Benefits of Outsourcing Revenue Cycle Management Functions

December 4, 2014

Hospital in Japan Struggling To Care for Patients

March 20, 2011

Best Hospital Lists: Rating the Rankers

September 29, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?