Physician

Creating a Google My Business Page for Physicians and Medical Practices

When you’re in a new location, where do you turn for suggestions of restaurants, stores, and nightclubs? Do you check out sites like Yelp and Foursquare to see what previous customers thought of a specific business?

Review sites have become very popular and can be a great resource for firsthand feedback. And they’re not limited to restaurants, golf courses, or hotels.

Patients more likely to review physicians on Google than ZocDoc

Users review other businesses, including individual physicians, private practices, and hospitals, clinics, and outpatient centers. In fact, research indicates patients prefer to post impressions of their doctors and their recent visits on Google review pages even more than medical rating sites like ZocDoc. The personal perspective posted online is how public opinion forms, for better or worse.

While eateries have always been subject to reviews and word-of-mouth evaluations, this form of commentary is relatively new for healthcare. But now that there’s more emphasis placed on patient satisfaction, online reviews carry more perceived value.

Physicians are using online patient feedback to their advantage

What’s more, a growing number of healthcare professionals and facilities are getting on board with the trend. Doctors are cultivating patient input via sites such as Google My Business because of the weight it carries with Internet search engines. Research indicates Google commands 68 percent of online searches, and that number can be as high as 90 percent in searches for physicians.

If you’re interested in creating and managing a Google page for your practice, read on for a few tips and words of caution.

Google My Business

You need three separate pages to establish a Google My Business presence. First, create a personal Google+ page. If you use gmail or created a Google account to manage personal documents and photos, you automatically have a Google+ page. This functions as the Google My Business foundation, but remains private. Nothing you post to your personal page should pop up when patients search your business name.

On the second page, Google My Business Location, you can post information about your practice and services. You can even share articles patients might find beneficial. This is also where patients can leave their thoughts and impressions.

The third page, Google My Business Brand, is recommended for healthcare organizations or large practices with multiple locations. The brand page provides a comprehensive online identity. Search experts suggest physicians have both location and brand pages to optimize an online presence and get the highest possible search priority.

Note: The My Google Business Brand page does not allow reviews, which is another reason to maintain a Location page.

A few additional points to consider when creating an online identity:

  • Proofread the address, all spelling, and other identifying details to make sure everything is correct
  • To avoid confusing visitors to the page, only list one main phone number
  • Double-check the office location is correctly positioned on the street map

Keep your Google My Business page as candid as possible

Although a vast majority of medical care reviews contain positive or constructive feedback, there’s no guarantee a disgruntled patient won’t send an occasional message. What matters most in this situation is how you respond.

Resist the urge to retaliate with an equally negative comeback. That just leaves an unprofessional impression of you as a physician. It’s okay to defend your practice as long as your comments remain objective and professional, and it shows you are reading reviews and listening to them.

Also, don’t delete all negative comments. A page with only glowing reviews appears inauthentic.

Make sure patients’ privacy is safe

Finally, exercise caution against revealing patients’ personal information, including any diagnosis or treatment details that could identify someone. These could be violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Indeed, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has investigated physicians for violating HIPAA regulations in online comments.

As society migrates even further into the social media realm, healthcare professionals, facilities, and private practices must create and maintain an active online presence. This will not only help potential patients find your practice but strengthen your interactions and relationships with existing patients.

About the author

Anne Baye Ericksen

Anne Baye Ericksen is a journalist and locum tenens subject-matter expert with more than two decades of experience. She was a regular contributor to LocumLife, Healthcare Traveler and Healthcare Staffing and Management Solutions magazines.

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