To Respond or Not Respond to Positive Reviews, That is the Question?

Medical Justice provides consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions to doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a consultation – or use the tool shared below.

Hard to imagine Hamlet pondering that riddle.

Practices frequently ask whether they should respond to online positive reviews.

We generally advise against it.

Why?

The way most practices do it, it’s a “technical breach” of HIPAA. For example, the patient writes, “Thanks Dr. S for doing a great job. Your surgery on me was a success and I was back at work in 4 days.” Typical response: “We’re delighted to have satisfied patients like you in our practice.”

What’s the problem?

You are acknowledging the patient is actually a patient in your practice. Even though the patient has “outed” themselves publicly, HIPAA does not allow you to disclose protected health information unless the patient provides advance signed authorization or there is a statutory exception. Almost no practice has the patient’s signed authorization to respond publicly to positive reviews. And if you’d like a list of statutory exceptions with HIPAA, head over here and pull out some popcorn. Responding to positive online reviews will not be found in this list.

We do believe that responding to the occasional negative review is a good idea, if it is done without acknowledging the poster is your patient and if you do not disclose protected health information. If done, care must be taken to make sure the response complies with HIPAA. The goal is not to get into a debate with the patient, escalating to WWIII. It’s to educate the public as to how your practice solves problems. Not to demonstrate how you are right and the patient is wrong.

Next, by responding to all positive reviews, there will be so many more “potential breaches.” If you respond to the occasional negative review with a HIPAA compliant response, this is an infrequent occurrence. If you are responding to all positive reviews, you will likely have more reviews to respond to. This means more opportunities to get it wrong.

Finally, the most practical reason we advise against it. You are thanking someone for the thanks. It’s hard to come up with original material that looks authentic and heart-felt. If you are truly gifted in crafting original material for each positive review, thanking them for the thanks, you’ve missed your calling. Quit your day-job and head to Hollywood to become a script writer. You’ll be handsomely compensated for your unique skill.

Is the risk in responding to positive reviews high? Not at all. Happy patients generally don’t complain to the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services. But a happy patient today can be an unhappy patient tomorrow. 

So, what to do?

Back to Hamlet. We generally advise thanking the patient “old school.” Call them, send an email, or reference it next time they see you in the office. They will interpret your acknowledgement as much more personal. 

What do you think?

Medical Justice provides consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions to doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a consultation – or use the tool shared below.

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.

Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.

Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.

In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2023 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With decades of combined experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.