How to Respond to Google Reviews Without Violating HIPPA
If you’re a healthcare provider, you have to comply with HIPPA, even when responding to Google Reviews.
If a patient leaves a Google review, you should respond publicly—but do so carefully.
It’s important to respond to Google Reviews, whether they are positive or negative. It won’t really impact your SEO and how you appear in Google. BUT, it can help with converting potential customers who read your thoughtful responses and see that you are responsive to your clients.
What to Avoid in Google Review Responses
It is a HIPPA violation if you disclose Private Health Information (PHI).
PHI is any information that can identify a patient, including name, date of birth, address, phone number, Social Security Number, treatment and diagnosis details, and health care plan information. There are actually 18 separate “identifiers” under HIPPA.
To avoid HIPPA violations in your Google Reviews, remember this rule:
Patients can disclose their own PHI, but health providers cannot.
The most common violations in Google Reviews include:
Acknowledging someone was your patient
Acknowledging they had a condition or that you treated them
Remember, even if the patient in their Google Review acknowledges they are your patient or what you treated them for, you still CANNOT acknowledge their particular comment because it’s considered a HIPPA violation.
For example, if a patient leaves a Google Review like this:
“I’ve been a patient here for 5 years, and they’ve been great for treating my back pain. -Lisa”
You cannot respond with:
“Hi Lisa, we’ve been honored to treat your back pain for all these years.”
With this response, as the health practitioner, you just disclosed (1) their name, (2) that they were your patient and (3) what you treated them for.
HIPPA Compliant Responses to Positive Google Reviews
How can you safely respond to Google Reviews without disclosing PHI?
You’ll want to avoid saying their name and stick with benign answers that thank them for their feedback, review, thoughtfulness, etc., without acknowledging that anything they said about their PHI was true.
Here are some examples:
Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
We value your feedback and thank you for your kind words! Your review is important to us as a small business.
We’re grateful for your review! We are always striving to enhance our patient experience. Your insights help us provide the best services for our patients.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! We value your input and are always striving to enhance our patient experience.
Thank you for your kind feedback! We’re committed to providing the best possible care, and we appreciate your thoughts.
We’re thankful for your review! Your input helps us continue to enhance the patient experience.
Reach out Personally for a Thoughtful Thank You
When a client writes a positive review, I know the responses above aren’t ideal for acknowledging the time and effort your clients put into their review. I also recommend reaching out with a personal note via email (or snail mail for a special touch!) to say thank you.
Here’s an example of what you might say:
“Thank you for the positive review on Google! We really appreciate your thoughtfulness in sharing your experience with our office.
Because of privacy regulations (HIPPA), we can’t respond to Google Reviews the way we’d like, so we just wanted to reach out personally.
Thank you for choosing and trusting us with your health. We are so thankful to have you as a patient and are pleased you’ve had a positive experience!”
HIPPA Compliant Responses to Negative Google Reviews
It’s inevitable that at some point, someone will leave you a negative review. When that happens, you still need to respond publicly.
Your response to their review is not just for your unhappy reviewer—it’s for any other prospective client who is checking out your business.
How you respond to this negative review is going to tell prospective clients a whole lot about your business and if they want to work with you or not. Having a reasonable response to a negative review reflects positively on you as a business.
Be careful: Do NOT apologize—this could be considered a HIPPA violation because you are acknowledging they are a patient via your apology.
Here are some examples of what you could say in response to a negative review:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We’re committed to addressing any issues and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further. Due to privacy regulations (HIPPA), we are unable to publicly address specific details about your comments. We will be reaching out to speak with you.
Thank you for your feedback. We understand your concerns and are dedicated to making necessary changes for better service. Due to privacy regulations (HIPPA), we are unable to publicly address specific details about your comments. We want to make things right, and we will be reaching out to learn more.
Thank you for your comments. We take all feedback seriously and are continually working to enhance the patient experience. Due to privacy regulations (HIPPA), we are unable to publicly address specific details about your comments. We will be reaching out to speak with you to see how we can make this right.
Reach out Personally
After you respond to their review publicly, you need to reach out and speak to them directly. If you talk to them and you’re able to make it right, then ask them to edit the review. You’ll not just mitigate a negative review but you’ve got a better chance of keeping that client.
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