Should a clinic reply to every Google review?

Published 7 October 2026 · 7 min read · India

By Hanuman Sihag · Head of Innovation Chamber — SEO & AIO

LinkedIn

Short answer: yes, aim to reply to every review, starting with the negative ones. The 245 leading Indian clinic and hospital brands in ICG's 2026 study replied to 60.5% of their recent Google reviews on average. Leading dermatology clinics replied to only 40.9%, the lowest of seven specialties, which leaves a visible gap for any skin clinic willing to answer consistently.

Clinic owners often ask whether replying is worth the time, especially to five-star reviews that say only "good doctor". The data from ICG's dermatology clinic Google review study and its six sister specialty studies shows what the leaders actually do, and where the effort matters most.

Reply rates by specialty

The spread is wide. Six in seven leading hair transplant clinics replied to at least half their reviews; among dermatology clinics it was four in ten. Both are elective, aesthetic-leaning specialties with similar patients, so the difference looks like habit rather than necessity.

Why dermatology's low reply rate matters

Dermatology clinics also had one of the higher negative shares in the study: 9.2% of classified reviews were negative, against 7.8% across all brands. The leading complaints were staff manner (27.0% of negative reviews), waiting (18.3%), and results and price (16.5% each). Those are exactly the reviews where a calm public reply and an offline follow-up help, and they are going unanswered more often than in any other specialty.

City habits differ too. Leading brands in Pune replied to 70.7% of reviews and in Hyderabad 66.5%; in Delhi the figure was 53.6%, the lowest of the seven cities.

Which reviews to answer first

1. Negative reviews, within 24 hours. ICG's response-time research on 6,412 negative reviews found replies within a day were linked to more reviewers revising their rating; see how many 5-star reviews offset a 1-star.
2. Mixed reviews that praise a doctor but criticise waiting or billing. Thank them for the specific praise and acknowledge the specific problem.
3. Detailed positive reviews. A short, personal thank-you that mentions what they wrote, without health details.
4. Star-only or one-line reviews. A brief thank-you is enough. Rotate a few phrasings so replies do not read as copy-paste.

How much time it actually takes

Reply workload follows review volume. A leading dental clinic adding about 17.5 reviews a month needs perhaps 15 to 20 minutes a week to answer every one. A leading multispeciality hospital adding about 166 a month needs a daily slot and a backup person, because negative reviews cannot wait for the weekly round. Most clinics are closer to the first case, which is why a 40.9% reply rate in dermatology is a choice rather than a capacity problem.

A safe short reply to a negative review can be as simple as: "We're sorry your visit did not go as it should have. We'd like to understand what happened; please call our patient care manager, [name], on [number]." It acknowledges the experience, confirms nothing about care, and moves the conversation offline.

How to reply safely

• Do not confirm the reviewer was a patient or mention any diagnosis, procedure or test, even if they did.
• Do not argue facts in public or name a doctor in a dispute.
• Offer a named contact and phone or email for follow-up.
• Never offer a discount or freebie in a reply; Google's policy prohibits incentives connected to reviews, including for removing or revising negative ones.
• Keep a template library reviewed for privacy and the DPDP Act; see our DPDP checklist for healthcare.

What this means for your clinic marketing

Reply rate is one of the few review metrics a clinic fully controls. Give replies a named owner, a 24-hour rule for negative reviews and a weekly check for the rest. For dermatology and orthopaedic practices in particular, consistent replies are an easy way to look more attentive than the competition. Our healthcare reputation management and Google Business Profile management teams run reply rotas for clinics, and our dermatology clinic marketing and hair transplant clinic marketing teams fold this into wider plans.

Frequently asked questions

Related