5 best practices for responding to online reviews
Patient privacy paramount as HIPAA applies to dentists’ responses
In this digital age, most dentists have received online reviews, but they may not know how best to respond to them or even if they should.
In an ADA Health Policy Institute survey, 88% of dentists reported receiving online reviews from patients. Of those respondents, 52% said they had responded to a review and 39% reported they were unable to respond to a review because of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations.
The American Dental Association encourages dentists to consistently monitor their practices’ pages on review sites and maintain patient privacy if they respond, as HIPAA, state privacy laws and other ethical considerations apply to their responses to online reviews.
"Even if a patient publicly shares details about their treatment in a review, health care providers cannot acknowledge or respond in a way that reveals any identifiable information about them due to HIPAA,” said Shane Ricci, D.D.S., chair of the ADA Council on Dental Practice. “Violating HIPAA by disclosing patient information in a review can result in legal actions and fines against the health care provider, so it is important to know and follow all laws regarding online reviews to avoid these unintended consequences, as well as maintain patient trust."
The Federal Trade Commission also approved a final rule in 2024 to combat fake reviews and testimonials. The rule prohibits fake or false consumer reviews, consumer testimonials and celebrity testimonials; the purchase of positive or negative reviews; insider reviews and consumer testimonials; company-controlled review websites; review suppression; and the misuse of fake social media indicators. It also allows the FTC to seek civil penalties against violators.
Below are general best practices for responding to online reviews courtesy of an ADA toolkit on protecting practice reputations. Find more advice and resources at ADA.org/socialtoolkit.
Keep it simple, keep it anonymous
Don’t acknowledge that a reviewer was a patient, whether the review is positive or negative.
Never reference a specific person or incident
Make sure your response offers no hint as to the identity of the poster.
Take complaints offline
If you get a negative review, you can respond in generalities and encourage the poster to call your office with a reply such as: “Our office strives to ensure a great patient experience. Please call our office to discuss.”
Remain professional, prompt and private
Avoid coming across as defensive, confrontational or accusative. Remember, future patients may read your responses before choosing your practice.
Legal action should be a last resort
Legal action is generally not recommended and can cause negative publicity that results in backlash that may be more detrimental to the practice than the original post.
