As the social Internet has exploded with popularity and users over the last several years, there has been a substantial up tick in the number of websites that are devoted to ranking and review of everything from restaurants to radiologists. This increase in the number of doctor review sites, in particular, seems to cause a lot of angst and apprehension in the health care community. Despite this, medical professionals should realize that patients are posting their opinions on an sites like Vitals.com, Dr.Score.com and RateMD.com; in this modern era of online reviews Doctors need to get on board the Reputation Train and take steps to promote their practice in a positive light while simultaneously working to engage detractors in a constructive and healthy exchange.

At present, it is estimated that roughly 1/5 of patients use doctor review websites. Given recent trends in that sector of the web, including a recent Wall Street Journal/Harris poll, the outlook for the coming years is growth. The Wall Street Journal poll indicates that over 90% of patients are interested in referring to doctor ratings for information on trust, communications, medical knowledge, availability and office environment. There will also be a bump in the numbers due to sheer generational mathematics as more young people, who are comfortable using the Internet to guide their decisions, mature and begin to access health care more often.

Given this trend, what’s the doctor supposed to do? There were certainly no tests on how to manage Yelp reviews back in Med school. Don’t worry, Reputation.com, the Internet leader in online reputation management, has some useful tips for doctors that may help influence online reputation while minimizing bad reviews:

1. Create and complete profiles for yourself on sites that rank doctors.

This is the first step, and arguably the most important. A lot of managing online reputation is about establishing authority, so get out there early on and dominate the space. Sites like WebMD give doctors the chance to add information about their practice online, and the cost to doctors is only a few minutes to register. The benefit in having current and accurate information about a practice online cannot be understated, and web-savvy patients will recognize the efforts to engage them online and listen to their feedback.

2. Guide your patients regarding doctor-rating sites.

It is impossible, and morally questionable, to prevent patients from using websites that rate doctors. However, doctors can help themselves and their patients at the same time by determining which sites provide the most reputable and relevant information and then directing patients to them. As the number of these types of sites continues to grow, expect to see items like cost, comments and outcome information in addition to numerical ratings. Forewarned is forearmed, and being aware of which sites have the best, most accurate information will help doctors and patients benefit the most from this technology. Something as simple a handout with some cursory information about the websites you have chosen will go a long way toward keeping patients informed and helping them not only make good decisions about which sites to use, but alto to think of their doctor in a positive light.

3. Create an easy-to-use system for patients to give their feedback.

Without a doubt, the one thing medical professionals don’t want are negative user-generated comments on the Internet. Surprisingly, less than 10% of comments on the average user-generated feedback site are negative. Unfortunately, in terms of human cognition these scant traces of negativity have a disproportionate affect on peoples’ opinions, and conversely a doctor’s reputation online. Often a patient vents negatively online because it is the most convenient way to express their frustrations and they are unaware of any alternative. The curious analog to this situation is that most doctors find fault with online rating services because there is no way to respond to negative comments.

One very effective and simple way to discourage negative comments on a third party review site is to have an open and active email address. Seriously, it’s that easy. You won’t completely eliminate ticked off patients or those looking to grind an ax, but by sending a simple email to a patient after an appointment, making a brief follow-up call or sending out a mailer a doctor goes a long way towards stealing someone’s righteous thunder. In the office, a well-placed sign that invites patients to express themselves, coupled with the necessary forms, can have a tremendous affect towards making people feel comfortable talking to a doctor or his staff about their experiences, rather than the entire Internet.

4. Monitor You Reputation Online

By keeping abreast of issues that are commonly brought up when a doctor’s office is mentioned, that doctor has an opportunity to make relatively simple and effective changes that will nip the problem in the bud. Doctors may be surprised to learn that the “biggest” problems many patients have is their time in the waiting room or the tone of voice that the secretary used with them. Since review sites tend to value the most recent reviews as most relevant, doctors who address things in a timely fashion give themselves maximum benefit. Sometimes acknowledging the problem early on goes a long way to assuaging fears that the office is somehow hopelessly mismanaged. Again, patients appreciate the attentiveness and engagement.

5. Encourage the use of doctor-rating sites.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but it is a good idea since the vast majority of comments on review sites are positive. Dissatisfied patients frequently make a bigger show of their feelings, but they are substantially outnumbered in most cases. The more patients you have writing reviews, the more positive recognition you are bringing to your name, while at the same time improving the site’s accuracy. Everyone wins! A lack of positive reviews is, more often than not, not a sign of a displeased patient base. On the contrary, it is probably because the patients with something good to say are unaware of doctor review sites, or the idea hasn’t even occurred to them.

Doctors should be proactive about asking patients to rate them online. Steps as simple as sending patients a follow-up email after a visit, giving them a card to take with them, and even drawing attention to existing positive reviews can be very good, yet subtle ways to get people talking about their doctor in a positive way online. Care should be exercised not to pressure patients, but encourage them to share their positive experiences with others.