These days, patients choose doctors the way they choose restaurants and hotels: by thoroughly checking reviews first. Before anyone picks up the phone to schedule a doctor visit, they’re likely typing your name into Google. And what they see there determines whether you earn their trust or lose them to a higher-rated competitor.

Tebra surveyed around 4,000 adults in the United States, and 77% of patients reported that they read online reviews before choosing a provider. That makes your practice's online reputation one of your most valuable (and vulnerable) business assets, as it directly impacts patient acquisition, retention, and practice growth.

Let’s break down why your review score matters, where patients are looking, and how you can turn your independent practice’s reviews into a growth engine.

Your practice’s online reputation is the "first impression" that determines whether a prospective patient converts into an actual appointment or continues searching elsewhere, and a rating below 4 stars appears to be the dealbreaker. 

According to the Tebra survey, 53% of patients won't even consider providers with ratings below 4 stars, while 16% will only consider those with perfect 5-star ratings. This means that If you don’t meet the 4-star rating bar, nearly half of potential patients won’t even make contact to give you a chance.

They are equally as unforgiving of negative feedback: 27% of patients will move on after reading just 3 negative online reviews, and 16% pass over a practice after seeing only 2 poor reviews. 

So even a few negative reviews can significantly impact your patient acquisition pipeline, making reputation management a critical component of any successful practice growth strategy.

Knowing where patients research practices helps you prioritize your online reputation management efforts. Here are the sites that they trust and at which they are most likely to look:

A recent survey also revealed that patients are turning more to AI these days to discover healthcare providers and practices. Many are now using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to get new provider recommendations and information.

What this all means is that you need consistency everywhere. Ensure your practice maintains accurate information online and actively manages its reviews across all major platforms. Optimize your Google Business profile and prominently feature patient testimonials on your practice website, as these represent your highest-impact opportunities.

While technology can streamline many aspects of reputation management, patients value authentic communication when it comes to review responses. In fact, 45% of patients said they have seen review responses that felt automated or AI-written.

The key isn't to avoid using AI to help you boost efficiency in responding to reviews — it's to ensure you use a tool that helps you maintain the professional tone of your practice. 

Tebra’s AI Review Replies helps you do just that by generating ready-to-use, sentiment-based responses that you can quickly review and post. Since Tebra uses advanced, sentiment-driven automation, responses to patient reviews can be more personalized. 

Here are additional benefits of using AI Review Replies:

Patients will appreciate it if you demonstrate genuine empathy and concern with your replies. Before responses to reviews are published, train your staff to review them through the lens of being respectful and empathetic — especially to sensitive feedback. 

Show that you've acknowledged concerns (without exposing sensitive patient information) and offer concrete steps for resolution.

For additional tips on how to stay compliant with patient reviews, check out our guide here.

Instead of viewing online reviews as a passive byproduct of patient care, you can actively leverage them as a growth engine. If you make it easy for them to share their experience, your happy patients could be your best marketers. 

The best way to protect your online reputation is to build it into your operations by implementing review collection and management that require minimal manual effort. Here are steps you can take to optimize the process:

When it comes to monitoring and improving your reputation management process, Tebra’s AI Review Insights can help by aggregating and categorizing patient reviews into actionable insights — all accessible within a single dashboard. Tebra's technology allows you and your practice staff to easily spot what’s working and where you can improve, without spending hours reading every review.

“It is immensely helpful to have an outside company managing my online reputation. As a busy physician working 10 hours a day, along with family and home life, it is nearly impossible to keep track of all the online reviews for an individual physician or practice,” says Dr. Jesse P. Houghton, MD, senior medical director of Gastroenterology at Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Your online reputation is a direct driver of your practice growth, influencing not only new patient acquisition and referral generation, but also patient retention. In an increasingly competitive healthcare marketplace, practices that proactively manage their online presence have the edge over those that treat reputation management as an afterthought.

Start with a comprehensive audit of your current review profiles across all major platforms. Identify gaps in your reputation management approach and begin implementing automated and sustainable processes for encouraging, monitoring, and responding to patient feedback. Remember, every star in your rating has a real impact on your practice's long-term success.

Want to know more about what matters most to today’s patients? Download the full Patient Perspectives Report for exclusive insights.