Online reviews are available now for everything from jobs to hotels, and companies pay ever closer attention to these reviews in a bid to improve their service, as well as obviously to market themselves to future customers.
Most industries seem to do this at least, except the medical profession, as new research from the University of Warwick reveals that most doctors are completely oblivious to the feedback their patients give online. Indeed, the majority thought such reviews were a largely negative force.
Around 1,000 doctors and 750 nurses were surveyed to understand their attitude towards online review services, and their experience of using them to improve care to patients. Indeed, just 27% of doctors and 21% of nurses were even aware that feedback about the care they delivered to patients even existed, with even fewer aware of feedback on specific instances involving themselves.
“We saw a lack of awareness from healthcare professionals of when feedback had been left about the care they delivered, whether as an individual or team. Overall, awareness and use by doctors is low. But we are seeing that doctors are much more negative about online feedback than nurses, and more so with GPs,” the researchers explain. “There’s a real need that if NHS organisations are collecting this data that they need to be communicating it to frontline staff, because it’s pointless for the patients if their message isn’t getting through.”
Head in the sand
This reticence to acknowledge the value, or even existence, of online reviews underlines why just under 40% of doctors encouraged patients to leave feedback. The researchers explain how damaging this is, citing previous research explaining how beneficial reviews are in improving the quality of care.
“Previous research in this area by our team shows that it tends to be more positive than people think. Healthcare organisations should be putting protocols in place for this feedback and developing plans for what to do with it. If healthcare professionals are aware of it and take control of the process a little more by actively soliciting it then it’s more likely to be useful to them. There are positive examples of how commentary left by NHS patients on review sites have led to changes in the health service,” they explain.
It’s perhaps natural for people to be wary of receiving negative feedback, but perhaps especially so in a field in which the opinions and intellect of doctors is held in such god-like esteem. It’s important for the sector however for this feedback to be taken on board so that the profession can improve.
