Like other businesses that cater to consumers and must make service a priority, those of us in healthcare – providers, practitioners and clinicians alike – must also put patient satisfaction at the top of our “To Do” list. This Medscape article points out exactly how and why the focus on the patient must continue being the top priority, especially as the landscape of healthcare continues to grow and change in so many ways.

“Healthcare now is a retail service, like banking or tax preparation,” says Ron Harmon King, the CEO of Vanguard, a Denver-based research company that gathered the patient complaint data. “People expect to be able to drive right up, walk in, and have the same experience they can have in a restaurant or retail establishment. The standards that consumers of food and financial services have are the same standards patients have for their physicians. In some ways, it’s unfair to the doctor, but it is the reality,” he adds.

Who is posting negative reviews about their doctors? The information cited in this article comes from a 2013 survey that analyzed 3617 online reviews of 300 physicians (internists and OB/GYNs) practicing in Austin, Denver, New York City and San Diego who earned the lowest marks on three medical review sites: Vitals, RateMDs and Yelp.

When we look at the nature of the patient comments and complaints that are most commonly made, we see they cover several areas related to patient care, as well as to how the practice is run and how the patient is made to feel. Customer service, bedside manner and attitude/indifference of medical and office personnel are all covered, and the comments can seem harsh in some cases. “When it comes to online comments, experts advise physicians to be accepting, attentive, reflective, and responsive,” explains Medscape.

Today more than ever before, patients are empowered and emboldened. They have choices, they have access to information and they have the ability to broadcast their opinions in a big way. Of course, not all negative feedback is warranted, but nevertheless it must be paid attention to and, whenever possible, countered with positive feedback.

What are their specific complaints? Patients cited long waiting times, rude front desk personnel and billing issues, to name a few areas of concerns. They also focused heavily on follow-up and callback issues:

*• “Unavailable for follow-up after hip prosthesis dislocation. Offered to see me in 6 weeks! This doctor basically did not want to see me again.”

• “Had me get a CAT scan done to determine whether or not I had a lung tumor. I called after the customary couple of work days for an answer. (One does want an answer about such things.) I called every day for a week, and was assured every day that my doctor would call me back before closing with the results. Nobody in the office could find the results all week, or be bothered to contact me.”

• “I never got a letter, phone call, email, text, nothing at all that they had moved! After 15 years of going every year, I think I deserve better.”

• “They do not call back with test results EVER and have failed to call in prescriptions when they promised to. They also have this habit of putting on their answering machine message to avoid calls in the afternoons while they are still in the office. And of course they do not monitor the messages, so there is literally no way to get hold of them.”

 Taking this feedback seriously. As medical providers, we take our patients’ feedback, feelings and comments very, very seriously. Now, more than ever, it’s important to treat every patient with the assumption that he or she will discuss the experience outside of the office setting, whether with friends, with others in the healthcare/medical fields and/or on any of the many feedback sites. It’s become a fact of life, and of healthcare in particular.

And whether the feedback is more medical/care-focused in nature or it is more about on what the article refers to as the “softer” side of medicine, such as service and office management, the goal should be the same: Making sure that patients feel they are being well taken care of and well attended to in every way.

At SecondOpinions.com, we pride ourselves in providing our patients with optimal customer service. From the time of your initial contact with us, we ensure that you will be connected with a top expert physician who specializes in the field of medicine that you need. Our specialists are able to give you the most reliable second opinion as well as keep you up-to-date on groundbreaking developments and research in their fields of expertise. There are no long waits for your second opinion in fact, you will receive your second opinion within hours of submission. We care about providing you with the best diagnosis and treatment plan are here for you every step of the way

* These comments appeared verbatim in the Medscape article.