At Foster Consulting, we help healthcare practices protect their reputation and build patient trust through strategic, compliant communication. As part of our Perfect Practice System®, we provide clear, actionable guidance for responding to online reviews in a way that safeguards HIPAA privacy, reflects your practice’s professionalism, and leaves a positive impression on future patients. This guide walks you through best practices, proven response frameworks, and real-world examples so you can turn every review—positive or negative—into an opportunity to strengthen your brand. 

Table of Contents

1. Why Review Responses Matter

Online reviews shape a patient’s first impression before they ever step into your practice.

  • Positive reviews can strengthen trust and boost new patient acquisition.

  • Negative reviews are an opportunity to demonstrate professionalism, empathy, and commitment to service.

  • Your tone and approach should reassure potential patients that they’ll be treated with care and respect.

2. HIPAA Compliance: The Golden Rule

Under HIPAA, you cannot confirm or deny that the reviewer is (or ever was) your patient. This means:

  • Do not reference their treatment, appointment dates, diagnosis, or any personal health information (PHI).

  • Do not use their name in connection with care, even if they used it in the review.

  • Do not defend or explain what happened during their visit.

  • Do keep your language general and applicable to anyone.

3. The Review Response Formula

A HIPAA-safe, reputation-positive review response follows this framework:

  1. Thank Them

    • Show gratitude for the feedback — this works for both positive and negative reviews.

  2. Acknowledge Their Experience

    • Without confirming they were a patient, acknowledge that you care about experiences at your practice.

  3. Invite Them to Continue the Conversation Offline

    • This removes the conversation from a public forum, reducing compliance risk and showing commitment to resolution.

4. HIPAA-Safe Example Responses

Positive Review

Reviewer: “The staff was so kind and my foot feels better already!”
Response: “Thank you for sharing your kind words. We’re committed to creating a welcoming environment for everyone who visits our practice. We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback.”

Neutral or Mixed Review

Reviewer: “The doctor was great but the wait time was too long.”
Response: “Thank you for your feedback. We strive to provide timely, high-quality service for all visitors. Your comments help us identify ways to improve.”

Negative Review

Reviewer: “They misdiagnosed me and overcharged for the visit!”
Response: “We take all feedback seriously and are committed to addressing concerns in a private, respectful manner. Please contact our office directly at [phone/email] so we can learn more and work toward a resolution.”

5. Tone Guidelines for Healthcare Practices

From your healthcare audience profileSelling to the Podiatri…Selling to the Podiatri…, tone should be:

  • Empathetic & patient-focused — prioritize warmth and professionalism.

  • Non-defensive — avoid arguing, even if you believe the review is inaccurate.

  • Solution-oriented — show willingness to improve or assist.

  • Consistent — make sure all team members follow the same response approach.

6. Additional Reputation Management Tips

  • Respond promptly — ideally within 48–72 hours.

  • Balance your responses — respond to both positive and negative reviews, not just the bad ones.

  • Encourage feedback proactively — ask satisfied patients to leave reviews to offset occasional negative ones.

  • Create a review policy — have a documented, HIPAA-compliant plan for how your team handles online feedback.Managing your online reputation isn’t just about putting out fires—it’s about consistently showing the professionalism, empathy, and excellence that set your practice apart. With a HIPAA-compliant review strategy in place, you can respond with confidence, protect patient privacy, and turn feedback into a powerful trust-building tool.

At Foster Consulting, we partner with high-performing healthcare practices to implement strategies like these as part of a broader growth plan, helping you attract ideal patients, strengthen your brand, and achieve long-term success.