Delivering useful feedback in the space of health care is challenging. This is because, healthcare is different and unique from other industries and by extension, health care feedback is a different and complex ballgame. Considering the nature of health care feedback, we take several steps to make it meaningful for both doctors & patients.

Practo way of delivering patient feedback*

A comprehensive system to collect feedback that is genuine and authentic – 

  • Verification: We ensure every feedback is from a verified phone number:
  1. Doctor will get a private view of every feedback to reply or dispute it before it goes public on his/her profile
  2. In the case of dispute, we collect appointment proof from every patient. If unable to provide proof, we don’t publish the feedback
  3. Any feedback collected on-premise (in clinic/hospital premise) is posted after verification only
  • Blur medical ability and remove personal attacks:
  1. We’ve found patients to make judgments on a doctor’s medical ability and treatment effectiveness such as “doctor is/isn’t knowledgeable”, which is a matter of expert opinion. The blur feature grays out parts of feedback from public viewing that comments on a doctor’s expertise
  2. No personal attack, generalization on intent such as “money-minded”, etc. These claims are not be published and patients are notified to modify the feedback
  • Removing false feedback:
  1. We restrict a patient from giving several accounts of feedback for the same doctor. Instead, the patient can edit his/her feedback on a continuous basis
  2. After the feedback is submitted, we get it verified from the patient again to be doubly sure of its authenticity
  3. We have several algorithms to study behavioral trends to identify patients or practitioners who may be taking multiple identities and leaving feedback
  4. We currently do not allow doctors to give feedback for other doctors. This is to reduce any competitive behavior to malign others

Furthermore, we generate feedback spread and volume by collection through multiple sources for multiple treatments & issues. We also ensure balance in opinions by:

  • Showing relative score
  • Publishing constructive feedback, ensuring strict moderation, and an option for a practitioner to reply and clarify his/her stance
  • Collecting objective feedback to make assessment more unbiased

What can you do as a medical practitioner

Feedback can be a great enabler for practitioners by connecting to patients looking for a specific treatments or conditions. We urge practitioners to

  • Encourage patients to share their experiences by sharing your Practo Profile – patients can use the “Give Feedback” button on the profile to share their experience
  • Not dissuade constructive feedback. Instead, engage with reviewers and clarify their doubts using the Feedback reply feature on your Feedback dashboard
  • Avoid giving recommendations to other doctors. We’ve come across several cases of doctors maligning other doctors, we have taken a stand to not publish doctor to doctor feedback in view of the greater good

Have any suggestions or questions? Do write to us at support@practo.com to share your views.

*Please note that some of the features mentioned are under testing and will be released soon.