Beware! Social media is a double-edged sword for hospitals

Social media can be a double-edged sword for hospitals -- You are nowhere if you stay away from it and you are doomed even if you part in it in a half-hearted manner.


This is specially true in case of social networking service Facebook, where hospitals will have to pay a price for bad publicity in the long run if they neglect negative reviews.

It is a given that no organisation or no product (not even top class iPhone) will get a five star rating from all reviewers but how they handle and respond to negative reviews on social media speaks about their vision and mission of providing quality services to their customers (patients in case of hospitals).


Take the case of Raja Ramadurai, a production designer when he publicly described the 'horrible experience' his sister faced at Apollo Health City in Hyderabad on 11 April, 2017.

Nobody knows the actual mental state of Raja Ramadurai or what led to the goof-up regarding the readings/tests that his sister had undergone at the hospital, the furious man came back to the hospital's Facebook page to give it a single star rating. 

In fact, it is an isolated instance as most of the 2,300 Facebook users flocking the hospital's page have collectively reviewed Apollo Health City with a 4.2 stars out of 5 stars for its services but how one handles criticism speaks volumes about one's character.

  
This became clear as the hospital's social media team did not even bother to respond when Raja Ramadurai left a parting note wherein he painstakingly described the day's event.

Horrible experience​. My sister was admitted in the Emergency Centre and after a host of tests she was told the results were normal. She was discharged the same night without reports. And when we procured the reports the next day (as she was discharged​ late night), all readings were abnormal. A useless Jr. Doctor diagnosed her in the ER!! My sister suffered miserably as a result and we had to spend a fortune to have her treated all over again. Lousy service for a hospital of the so called 5-Star calibre. Extremely disappointed.




Lessons for hospitals

It is possible that what  Raja Ramadurai faced could have been attributed to a mis-communication by hospital staff but what is important is how the hospital's social media team reacts when such negative reviews are publicly written about on their Facebook page.

In such cases, the hospital's social media team should reach out to the patient/attendant with their version and possibly apologize if the mistake is from their end. The point is simple: communicate back with the critic.

There is need for coordination between the hospital's social media team and the department where such instance was reported to have taken place.

The bottom line is this: To err is human but for someone's mistake, the brand will suffer if appropriate measures are not put in place.

Finally, I wonder if hospitals shy away from maintaining their own Facebook pages, would it have been possible for people like Raja Ramadurai to have reviewed like this. This brings back the million-dollar question: should you have a Facebook page?


The answer is yes! But, do it properly. 

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