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Today, reviews on the Internet play an important role in the reputation of a healthcare professional. It is on the basis of this observation that the start-up MerciDocteur decided to offer its services to improve their reputation.
More than one out of two patients admits to looking at the opinions on the internet before consulting a health professional, highlights an OpinionWay survey for DoctiZen. Like an amusement park, a restaurant or an airline, it is also possible to leave a rating, ranging from one to five stars, and a comment on a practitioner.
But how do you react to a comment, whether positive or negative? If entertainment or catering companies are now used to recurring reviews of their business, the medical sector is still adapting to these new technologies.
Since September 2018, the Order of Physicians has offered on its website a practical guide for specialists for “Managing your e-reputation”. Among the advice provided by the Order, we find in particular “the setting up of a watch once a month by means of keyword research on the main search engines, specialized sites, social networks” as well as the creation of personal accounts to control the information exchanged. So much time to find for professionals whose agenda is often overloaded.
95% of patients would be satisfied with healthcare professionals
It’s there that the startup MerciDocteur, specializing in the e-reputation of health companies, intervenes. Its founders started from the observation of a radiologist friend in the grip of negative opinions on his Google page. The two trained engineers then “designed a solution to collect patient feedback in a global way, by sending and analyzing digital satisfaction surveys”explains the startup on its website.
“When you realize that 95% of patients are satisfied with the services of healthcare professionals in France, you might as well ask them and give them a voice!” explains Thomas Dechaseaux, co-founder of MerciDocteur in a press release. The idea is to encourage patients to leave an opinion following a medical consultation.
According to the startup, a satisfied patient does not have the reflex to leave a review on a practitioner’s Google page, unlike an unsatisfied patient. “Google comments therefore often reflect a biased image of reality, often negative”, comments the company. After an appointment with a practitioner, MerciDocteur solicits patients and offers them to leave an opinion on their experience. The flood of positive opinions allows to “drown” the negative opinions.
These comments serve as sources of information for a health center to improve its medical services. “They provide valuable information on the reception, the quality of the meals consumed during a hospital stay or on communication with the healthcare team”underlines the company.