To Review or to not Review - the repeating question

Choosing a health care provider, or deciding on whom to rely upon for an alternative opinion is a very important decision for patients.

The Australian Doctor News is reporting that "Google reviews 'destroying' doctor reputations" and NSW AMA are lobbying to allow doctors to disable the Google review feature.

Reviews, testimonials and endorsements of services or products carry a lot of weight and all have immense value to the reader but only when they can rely upon the review being genuine.

Spam-spotting software that picks up on fake reviews, and rules that disallow defamatory comments should work, but if they aren't, should (paying) businesses have a chance to opt-out of this feature?

Is there real value of a review in this space? Obviously for some who believe they have lost thousands of dollars and website traffic off the back of a single review.

Patients have the opportunity to choose their health provider and often that involves researching the reputation of the practice, or the individual. How that information is sought - over the fence with a neighbour, at a family gathering on the weekend or in these days, more likely through an internet search or Facebook recommendation request.

As for Google reviews, if a review is proven to be untrue, it should not be allowed and perhaps for these significant, possibly life-changing choices the option to include reviews should be limited. A statement of the facts or a rating of the experience could be sufficient, avoiding judgemental terminology and inflammatory comments.

As for product reviews…. that’s another post!