Patient reviews for pediatric practices: how to get more of them within FTC rules
Parents read reviews before they trust a practice with their child. A steady flow of honest reviews from other parents is one of the most persuasive things a pediatric practice can have. It is also an area where well-meaning practices break rules, by offering incentives, filtering out unhappy parents or replying in ways that reveal patient information. This guide covers how to do it properly.
- The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, in effect since October 2024, bans fake reviews, reviews bought with incentives tied to a positive opinion, undisclosed insider reviews and review suppression.
- Google's policies go further: no incentives for reviews at all, and no selectively asking only happy patients.
- Ask every family the same way, at the same point in the visit, and make it easy.
- Reply to every review, but never confirm that someone is a patient or mention care. HHS has taken action against practices for this.
- In pediatrics, reviews come from parents and guardians. Ask them, not the child.
- Every practice welcome — retainers from $499/mo, Goals-Driven engagements, Performance-Linked Payout Models available.
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“They were able to get all my ideas and work with me over a period of three to four months and create this amazing website. It's super customized, very modern, and it incorporates all the elements that I had wanted — the patient portal, nice pictures, a very interactive website, patient reviews. I would highly recommend their company to anyone who wants to make an excellent website.”
Why reviews carry so much weight in pediatrics
Choosing a pediatrician or pediatric dentist is an emotional decision. Parents want to know how the practice treats anxious children, whether the doctor listens, how long the wait is and whether the front desk is kind. Clinical credentials matter, but parents rarely know how to judge them. Other parents' experiences fill that gap.
Reviews also affect visibility. Google considers review count, recency and quality in local results, and a Business Profile with recent reviews from parents looks alive. A profile whose most recent review is two years old looks like a practice that may not be taking new patients.
That value is exactly why rules exist. Regulators and platforms have tightened what businesses may do to get reviews, and healthcare practices have extra obligations because of patient privacy.
The rules that apply, in plain English
The FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials
The Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule on the use of consumer reviews and testimonials in August 2024. It took effect in October 2024 and allows the FTC to seek civil penalties. Among other things, it prohibits:
- Fake reviews, including reviews from people who didn't have the experience, and reviews generated by AI that misrepresent who wrote them.
- Incentives conditioned on sentiment: offering anything in exchange for a positive (or negative) review.
- Undisclosed insider reviews by owners, managers, employees or their relatives, and soliciting such reviews without clear disclosure.
- Review suppression: using threats or intimidation to stop negative reviews, or misrepresenting that the reviews shown are all or most of the reviews received.
- Company-controlled review sites presented as independent.
- Buying or selling fake social media indicators such as followers or views.
The FTC Endorsement Guides
The FTC's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, revised in 2023, apply when you use reviews or testimonials in your own marketing. Material connections must be disclosed, testimonials shouldn't misrepresent typical results, and you shouldn't cherry-pick in a way that misleads.
Google's review policies
Google's rules for Business Profile reviews are stricter than the FTC's in two respects: it prohibits offering incentives for reviews at all, and it prohibits selectively asking for positive reviews. It also prohibits reviews from people with a conflict of interest, such as employees. Violations can lead to reviews being removed or the profile being restricted.
HIPAA
A patient can say whatever they like about their own care in a review. The practice cannot respond with protected health information, and that includes confirming that the reviewer or their child is a patient. The HHS Office for Civil Rights has reached settlements with practices, including dental practices, that disclosed patient information in replies to online reviews. State medical and dental boards may also have rules on testimonials in advertising.
A seven-step review program for pediatric practices
- Ask every family, the same way. Pick one moment, such as at checkout or in the post-visit message, and ask every parent or guardian. Consistency is both fair and compliant.
- Make it easy. Send a direct link to your Google review form for that specific location by text or email (with consent), and have a QR code at the front desk. Every extra tap loses reviews.
- Ask the right person. In pediatrics, ask parents and guardians. For teenage patients, keep it to the parent unless your policies say otherwise.
- Suggest what's useful, not what to say. "Other parents find it helpful to hear about your visit" is fine. Scripts, star-rating requests or pre-written reviews are not.
- Never reward and never gate. No gift cards, raffles or discounts for reviews. Don't use a satisfaction survey to decide who gets the review link.
- Reply to every review within a few business days. Thank positive reviewers without mentioning care. Handle negative reviews with the template below.
- Train the whole team. Front desk, providers and managers should know what they can and can't say, and that staff should never write reviews for the practice.
Replying safely: examples
Positive review
Safe: "Thank you for taking the time to share this. Our team works hard to make every family feel welcome."
Not safe: "We're so glad Emma's ear infection cleared up. See you at her 4-year check!"
Negative review about waiting
Safe: "We're sorry to hear about this experience. We aim to keep waits short and would like to learn more. Please call our practice manager at [number]."
Not safe: "Your son's appointment on Tuesday ran late because of an emergency."
Negative review about billing
Safe: "We take billing concerns seriously and would like to help. Please contact our billing office at [number]."
Not safe: "Our records show your insurance denied the claim for the sick visit."
The rule of thumb: write a reply you could post about anyone. If it would only make sense for this specific patient, it probably says too much.
When a review is fake or abusive
If a review appears to be fake, from a competitor or former employee, or violates Google's content policies, report it through your Business Profile. Don't respond with accusations. Removing reviews simply because they are negative isn't possible, and trying to suppress them through threats is prohibited.
Reviews as part of local visibility
Reviews do the most good as part of a well-run Google Business Profile, not as a standalone project. For our client Opulent Pediatrics in Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Virginia, the Opulent group's SEO and Google Business Profile engagement keeps the profile complete and accurate, with services, hours, photos and insurance details, alongside service pages and parent-focused content. A steady review process fits into that monthly rhythm rather than running as occasional bursts.
For multi-location groups, run the program per location so each profile builds its own reviews. Our multi-location Business Profile guide covers the setup.
What to measure
- New reviews per location per month, and the share of families asked who leave one.
- Average reply time and share of reviews answered.
- Themes in negative reviews (waits, phones, billing), shared with operations each month.
- Calls and bookings from the Business Profile, to see how reviews support visibility.
The last point matters most. Reviews are not a score to chase. They are feedback from parents and a signal to other parents. Practices that fix what reviews reveal tend to get better reviews without doing anything else.
Related pages from the US team
Pediatric practice marketing USA
Our full approach for pediatric practices, including review programs.
Case study: Opulent Pediatrics
SEO and Google Business Profile management for a Virginia pediatric practice.
Healthcare marketing agency USA
How Ichelon Consulting US works with practices across the country.
FTC endorsement guide
More on the FTC Endorsement Guides and disclosure.
Every practice welcome — Goals-Driven engagements from $499/mo
We benchmark your last 90 days, agree monthly goals with you, and track them live on Ichelon Agency OS with a report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available. Our US leadership is based in Dallas, and strategy calls run in US business hours.
Common questions
Can we offer a discount or gift card in exchange for a review?
Offering an incentive conditioned on a positive review is prohibited under the FTC's 2024 rule. Google's own policies go further and prohibit offering incentives for reviews at all. The safe approach is simply to ask every family, make it easy and never attach a reward.
Can we ask only happy parents for reviews?
You should not. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, sometimes called review gating, and it can mislead readers. Ask every family the same way. If you run a satisfaction survey, don't use it to decide who gets the review link.
How should we reply to a negative review from a parent?
Calmly, briefly and without confirming that the reviewer or their child is a patient or describing any care. Thank them for the feedback, state your general commitment (for example to timely communication), and invite them to contact the practice manager directly. Continue the conversation offline. HHS has fined practices, including dental practices, for disclosing patient information in review replies.
Can staff or their family members leave reviews?
Reviews by employees, owners or their relatives without clear disclosure of the relationship can violate the FTC rule, and Google's policies prohibit conflict-of-interest reviews. Keep staff out of it, and don't ask staff to solicit reviews from their own friends and family.
Can we use parent reviews as testimonials on our website?
Often yes, with care. Get the reviewer's permission before republishing, don't edit a review in a way that changes its meaning, and remember that a testimonial should reflect typical experiences. Avoid sharing any health details about the child. For testimonials that include PHI, a HIPAA authorization is needed.
A note on this guide: it explains marketing practice, not legal advice. Rules on privacy, advertising and insurance change and vary by state, so confirm anything compliance-related with your own counsel.
Want a steady, rule-safe review program?
A 30-minute benchmarking call with the US team. We'll review your profiles, review flow and replies and tell you what we'd fix first.