I was reading this article about Japanese doctors suing Google because of bad reviews. It seems we are not alone. Interestingly enough, their situation is very similar to DPC docs here. Listen, when you are grinding in the system you could care less about patient reviews. You were always filled with patients so it didn’t matter. When you are independent these damn reviews are important. Here are some quotes from the article:

• They argue that these reviews tend to be one-sided, are often left anonymously and create a bad impression of their clinics. When prospective patients look at them on Google Maps, it may discourage them from coming to their facilities, resulting in a loss of business.
• For the doctors, these reviews are hard to rebut given patient-doctor confidentiality, creating a dynamic in which medical institutions are “one-sided punching bags,” the lead plaintiff said. Although it is not an issue unique to doctors, medical institutions are especially vulnerable to the Google Maps system.
• “Unlike other businesses, patients don’t pay the majority of the treatment covered by the national health care system. Therefore we cannot give into all the demands that the patient has — we can’t prescribe unnecessary medicines or perform unnecessary tests,” the lead plaintiff said. “So we have to decline such requests, but when we do, it can result in a bad rating on Google Maps.”

There you have it. One-sided punching bags says it all. We ALL have had these bad reviews. Patients who didn’t like you didn’t take insurance – bad review. Patients who wanted narcotics – bad review. Patients who just didn’t like you – bad review. And you can DO nothing about it!!

Or can you?

Before I go on, please do not fight with these patients on the review site. That only goes south.

The only answer I know is dilution. As I mentioned in my Churn book, when I would send emails or newsletters to patients there would be a casual mention asking them to give a review with links provided. I highly recommend you do this. The other option is to use family and friends and DPC colleagues to give reviews when you see a bad one.

Are these reviews from friends and family and DPC colleagues bullsh$t? Maybe, but who cares? The patient review sites are all bullsh$t because as this lawsuit says, we cannot defend ourselves. SO…. fight bullsh$t with bullsh$t.