Write a Review and Call Me in the Morning

Internet users are rating their doctors--by the thousands. 

Wellness.com has collected more than 620,000 patient reviews and 1.1 million satisfaction survey responses. This growing base of consumer reviews and survey data makes healthcare practitioners and procedures easier to shop.

Have you reviewed your doctor yet?

Keep in mind that star ratings and reviews are discretionary feedback by people who value different things. For example, I had risky foot surgery done and the surgeon I chose had some of the worst service ratings including a formal ongoing medical board disciplinary action against him. How could I let anyone with a 3-star rating cut me? I chose him because he had dozens of reviews giving me confidence they weren’t coming from his friends and family. Even though there were a few bad ones, they seemed to be more about his demeanor, not his skill. I wasn’t looking for a friend I was looking for the best possible surgeon I could find. It was apparent that most of his patients perceived his skill level to be remarkable and reported no more pain after surgery. Most stated they would refer him. Anyone who can overcome the perception issues he faced and still win a referral must be the best skill in town. My experiences confirmed it. I left him a very positive review as well.

In addition to hosting consumer written reviews, Wellness.com asks consumers hundreds of randomly generated survey questions that are each grouped into one of six main categories that can be scored by service levels, staff, expertise, environment, value, and the consumer’s likelihood to refer their provider to a friend or family member. Your input on your doctor’s practice adds tremendous value to the next patient trying to make an informed decision.

Do reviews stay on the doctor’s record forever?

The review and rating systems are intended for actual patients to share healthcare experiences that would be useful to future patients. Wellness.com has automated safeguards to help prevent and dissuade malicious attacks. Nevertheless, abuse of review and rating systems by unscrupulous people can still happen. Wellness.com provides practitioners with the ability to dispute reviews that violate the website’s published terms-of-use.

What about negative reviews that a practitioner simply doesn’t like; can those be simply removed with the dispute process?

The short answer is no. While honest reviewers are afforded constitutional freedom of speech, reviewers should never confuse that freedom with the ability to harm a business or professional with an intentional act of defamation. To keep it fair, Wellness.com requires that reviewers be willing to receive system emails from time-to-time to confirm the authenticity of their review and in some cases confirm that they still assert the review is fair and accurate. In cases where disputes are resolved fairly or issues have cooled off over time, this confirmation methodology keeps things fair for both sides. Most important, with the review confirmation system, fraudulent and unfair use of the system is dramatically reduced as the system also reminds reviewers what constitutes a fair, useful review and what is defamation.

Wellness.com operates with the initial assumption that all reviews are legitimate. A review being disputed is temporarily unpublished and the reviewer is contacted by email to confirm the authenticity of their review. If the reviewer confirms the review is indeed authentic and they stand behind it, then the review gets reposted. In cases where the review did happen to be an act of premeditated defamation, we will uphold the dispute and leave the review unpublished permanently. Also, if the confirmation email bounces or confirmation is not received from the reviewer, the review stays off the professional profile of the health practitioner or business.

As Internet-age healthcare providers start taking their online reputation more seriously, transparency improves and it is good for everyone. A doctor or healthcare practitioner who openly asks for reviews by their patients is highly unlikely to be harmed by a couple of bad ones. Providers who have the most reviews are likely to be earning the most business. The smartest practitioners are openly asking for reviews and emailing review reminders to their patients.

Wellness.com exists to empower health conscious consumers. The company is a proponent of transparency in healthcare. We are not only interested in collecting doctor reviews, but Wellness.com will soon be collecting rich in-depth consumer surveys and reviews on procedure satisfaction and therapy outcome data as well.

Combine increased transparency and better decision support tools with the convenience and efficiency of telemedicine visits and you’ve transformed healthcare to a significant degree.

Your participation in the process has never mattered more.

Be well,

John Valenty

Follow John Valenty on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/john.valenty

About Wellness.com 

Southern California based Wellness.com delivers healthy living tips and empowers consumers to make better choices regarding their health and wellness. Wellness.com is visited by more than 30 million domestic visitors each year of which more than 1.7 million have left ratings and reviews on various health practitioners and doctors practicing in the United States.