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
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • 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 Prompt
  • 2. Be Gracious
  • 3. Move the Conversation Offline
  • 4. Differentiating Between Trolls and Concerned Customers
  • 5. 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

Bridging The Gap In Multi-Generational Medical Marketing
Bridging The Gap In Multi-Generational Medical Marketing
Credibility and Privacy Issues Limit Usefulness of Health Care Social Communities
Emergency Physicians Give Emergency Care in America a D+
How to Use Internet Marketing to Promote Your Clinical Trial
Better Health IT: Is Sending Docs to Tech School the Answer?

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

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

digital-medicine-hand.jpg
eHealth

Looking Ahead: Digital Technologies That Will Transform the Medical Industry Forever

August 27, 2016
social media success
Social Media

Social Media: 23 All-Time Tips and Techniques for Doctors

November 3, 2016

MedStar SiTEL Achieves Accreditation by SSH

May 16, 2014
Image
Business

Doctor-Approved: Physicians Understand the Value of Marketing

November 15, 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?