8 Ways to Become a 5-Star Physician in Reviews

When it comes to the way patients choose their physicians, times are changing.

"Patients want to go to good doctors and this, of course, isn't new," says Luke Kervin, co-CEO of Los Angeles practice growth platform PatientPop. "What is new is how they're gathering evidence to decide who is a good doctor and who is not." He notes that in the past, prospective patients might have asked their primary physician for a referral or family and friends for recommendations. Today, they're conducting their own research on websites such as Healthgrades, Vitals, and Yelp.That means attention to maintaining a positive profile is a must.

"Online reputation is critical to attracting new patients for most physician practices today," says Matthew Bates, MPH, managing director of medical group transformation at Studer Group, a healthcare coaching and consulting firm in Pensacola, Fla. He cites research showing that more than half of healthcare consumers will search online to find or check on a new physician before seeing them.

Given this realty, how can physicians garner the best possible scores?