reviews and ratings sites Archives

New ebook on the ROI of investing in the patient experience

Recently, the check-in automation company Phreesia invited me to write an ebook on one of my favorite topics: the patient-centered practice. It's called "Beyond Five-Star Reviews: Why the Patient Experience Matters, and How to Improve It," and it's available free with registration -- just click on this link. The idea of being more patient-centered and creating a better patient experience attracts more controversy and confusion than it should. The bottom line is that being more patient-centered fits with clinical goals as well as business ones, because it may help patients become more engaged and more receptive to clinical advice. "Patient-centered" is not about chasing positive reviews, and it's not about being patient-led. It's about understanding the patient perspective and communicating that you do, while also maintaining your practice's clinical integrity and mission. And it's about focusing on administrative processes patients interact with every day that can make your practice more or less welcoming and convenient for patients. The ebook contains some ideas that any practice can implement to improve the patient experience. I hope you'll check it out -- download it here.

By Judy Capko|2017-03-27T08:19:14-08:00March 27th, 2017|

Will regulation fix payer directory errors?

A few months ago, I was honored to host a #kareochat (thanks, @gokareo!) about filling the appointment schedule. The discussion hit on one of my favorite topics: payer directories. Repeat visitors to this space and/or readers of my ebook probably already know that I consider payer directory listings to be the top reputation management priority for most practices (at least if you're aiming to serve insured patients). Even though these directories aren't always near the top of a physician or specialty search in Google or Bing, most patients will know the name of their insurance plan, and will go to the plan's site to be sure any physician they consider seeing will take their plan. (This goes double for any patient who has been burned by accidentally seeing a doctor out-of-network, resulting in an unexpected bill.) Patients will find their plan directories, and use them to screen out doctors who don't take their insurance. Of course, the other reason I put payer directory listings at the top of the monitoring priorities is that they are so often wrong! It's logical to assume that the directories would be updated automatically or that the payers should take care of this without assistance from providers. But even though payers are nominally responsible, providers have to be vigilant, because the stakes for themselves and their patients are too high, and payers just aren't getting the job done. @drtom_kareo (Dr. Tom Giannulli, medical director at Kareo) pointed out that legislation is coming (SB 137) in California to mandate payers correct their directories. Plus, the CMS has already announced that it will fine Medicare Advantage plans for errors in their physician listings. In theory, this will push the payers to get their directory houses in order -- right? While the legislation is going to bring more attention to the problem, which is great, I don't think solving it will be so easy. Here are a few reasons why I think it's not that simple. Are payers deliberately ignoring their directories? I don't think so. The idea that legislation is the push that insurance companies need to

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:51:56-08:00April 13th, 2016|

Your practice may be unintentionally turning new patients away

It's almost a new year -- woohoo! Resolution time! Fresh start! And for many patients, brand new insurance! For many patients with new insurance, it's also time to shop for new doctors. When they do, will they find you? By now you probably already know that there are many resources out there to help you with online reputation management (including lots of software products, and publications like this book by yours truly). But an often-overlooked part of online reputation management is especially important early in the year: payer directories. Patients rely on payer directories both when they shop for a new plan (if they want to keep their doctor(s), they'll want to be sure they're in the new plan) and when they start to use the plan (to choose a new doctor(s)). Both of these moments are among your very best opportunities to attract a patient who has just secured a plan you accept -- just the kind of patient you want. But if you're not listed in the directory, or not listed properly, your chance to attract that patients just slipped through your hands. It's just as if your practice intentionally turned the patient away -- if your payer directory listings are not correct, the effect is no different. It may seem to you (as a sensible person) that payers should make sure their directories are accurate. And indeed they should. But, unfortunately, errors abound. Maintaining directories, it turns out, is a very difficult job. While it shouldn't be your job, unless you assume some responsibility for monitoring these listings, you can't be sure they're correct; if they're wrong, it's your business that pays the price. Plus, in some cases, online payer directories are adding features like photos and website links that can give your practice a promotional boost. You can't access these new features unless someone at your practice is engaging with these directories and keeping them updated and polished. Make checking and updating the directories of all your payers a top priority for the New Year. Finding and fixing even one erroneous entry can make a significant difference in

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:51:58-08:00December 15th, 2015|

Healthgrades unveils new claims-based ratings

An article today on usatoday.com reports that Healthgrades has rolled out new metrics drawing inferences about physician and hospital quality from health plan claims data. They're analyzing physicians' level of experience with specific procedures (based on frequency in the claims) and aiming to combine this data with patient reviews and other quality data they can tie back to their physician profiles, such as doctors' hospital affiliations and complication data from those hospitals. USA Today thinks the new approach could be "game changing." But even if doesn't dramatically change the game for the ratings sites themselves, certainly these new measures will be another data point that patients who already visit Healthgrades will consider -- and that means it's also one more way that incorrect information can silently undermine your practice and your marketing efforts. Say, for example, your surgery practice has affiliations with multiple hospitals, but somehow Healthgrades has only accessed the one with the most complications, or the one where your physicians have performed the fewest procedures. Omissions of the other hospitals from the calculations could cause Healthgrades to report that your physicians have less experience than they do, or that they're affiliated only with lower quality hospitals. For a patient choosing between two physicians, data like this could easily persuade the patient to choose the other option over your practice. Bottom line: an incomplete picture could do just as much damage as a negative review! This is just one more reason to be sure you're registered on Healthgrades and have reviewed and updated all of your listing information -- including verifying and updating things like hospital affiliations and procedures performed. (And once you've updated the facts, you'll have the chance to polish up the image portions of your profile, too, too.) And if you've been intimidated by the process of working with physician ratings sites and claiming and updating your physician profiles, my ebook -- The Quick Guide to Online Physician Reputation Management (Vol. 1) -- can help you get started quickly and without stress. It will help you prioritize and show you just what you have to do.

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:52:05-08:00October 20th, 2014|

Google Places, +Local renamed and reorganized again: Google My Business

Google seems to change up the marketing and integration of its business listings offering about twice a year; the newest incarnation, "Google My Business," continues the search giant's efforts to better integrate its various directory, map and social tools for local businesses. Given that the change just happened a few days ago, we're still digging in to see if there is any significant impact on medical practices and their physician listings. So far, it all looks reasonably familiar, but the process for setting up listings is perhaps a bit more streamlined. If you've heard us speak about claiming your Google Places or Google+Local listings and haven't yet gotten started, head to www.google.com/mybusiness to get started -- the process hasn't changed much, and it is still pretty intuitive and easy to complete.

By Morgan|2022-01-01T22:52:07-08:00June 30th, 2014|

Patient use of physician ratings sites increasing — not waning

If you've been among the practice managers and physicians ignoring the 'fad' of physician ratings sites, hoping they'll just fade away eventually, there's bad news for you in last month's JAMA: more people than ever are aware of the existence of physician ratings sites. And more people than ever are using them. As has long been the trend, though, patients aren't flooding sites with rants of disgruntlement; positive views continue to heavily outweigh negative ones. The most important take-away from this new research? If you haven't started taking control of your listings on ratings sites, the time to act is now. Hiding won't help ... and taking charge is easy, once you learn a few key steps. Interested in learning more about online reputation management? I will be publishing a new Management Rx ebook on this subject in the next few weeks. To be notified (and take advantage of free review copies if you're interested), sign up here: Subscribe to the Management Rx interest list by Email

By Morgan|2014-03-24T16:37:12-08:00March 24th, 2014|