How can a virtual assistant automate review requests after a successful visit

In today’s digital health landscape, a provider’s online reputation is often the first impression for new patients.

An overwhelming 84% of patients report visiting online review sites to evaluate healthcare providers, and 73% consider those reviews critical when selecting a new doctor. Positive reviews aren’t just vanity; they directly affect patient trust and practice growth.

However, satisfied patients often don’t think to leave reviews on their own; in fact, only about 5–10% of patients typically write a review without being asked.

This means the “silent majority” of happy patients’ voices are not being heard online. Meanwhile, a few negative or angry voices can dominate if not balanced out.

Manually asking each patient for a review (via postcards, calls, or at checkout) is inconsistent and hard to scale. Many offices simply forget to do it amid post-visit paperwork.

Thus, countless opportunities for 5-star ratings and referrals are lost. The challenge is how to systematically encourage patients to share their positive experiences, without pestering them or violating privacy rules.

How a VA Automates Review Requests After a Successful Visit

A healthcare automation expert virtual assistant can implement a smart, hands-off system to send review requests to patients after their visit, particularly focusing on those with a good experience. The workflow is customizable, but here’s a common approach:

Identify satisfied patients

The automation expert VA can set up criteria to determine which patients to ask for reviews.

For example, once an appointment is marked completed in the system, if there were no major complaints or issues noted, that patient is tagged as eligible for a review request (a “successful visit” marker).

Some practices also send a quick post-visit text survey (“How was your visit today? [Good/Bad]”). If the patient indicates a positive experience, they proceed to the review ask, whereas a negative response can trigger service recovery instead.

This ensures you route unhappy feedback internally first to fix issues, rather than prompting a disgruntled patient to write a scathing public review.

Timing and channel of request

The automation sends out a personalized review request, typically within 24–48 hours after the visit. Timing is key.

The experience is still fresh, but the patient isn’t in the office rush anymore.

Studies show asking within a day or two and mid-week mornings can boost response rates. The request can be via email or SMS, depending on patient preference (text often gets higher open rates, but email allows a longer message).

The message is friendly and succinct: e.g., “Hi [Name], we’re glad we could care for you. It would mean a lot if you share your experience. Please leave a quick review [link].” Including the patient’s first name and perhaps the provider’s name makes it feel personal, not generic.

Provide direct, simple links

The medical virtual assistant will use a tool (like Podium, Birdeye, or even a direct Google review link) to make leaving a review one-click easy. Many patients won’t navigate a complex process, so the automation takes them straight to the right page (Google, HealthGrades, etc.).

Given that 81.9% of patients are familiar with Google reviews specifically, focusing on Google is often wise. Although the VA can offer options (e.g., “Leave feedback on Google or reply here if you prefer to give it privately.”).

Gentle follow-up for non-responders

If a patient doesn’t click the review link, a well-designed workflow can send a polite reminder a few days later.

This isn’t nagging, it’s a single nudge, something like, “Just a friendly reminder: your feedback helps us serve you better. If you haven’t had a chance to leave a review, we’d greatly appreciate it!”

We’ve seen that sending a second follow-up email can improve success rates significantly upto 32%.

In other words, that extra reminder can coax out double the responses without “pestering,” since patients often intend to leave a review but get busy and forget. The VA manages this schedule and ensures no one gets more than the appropriate number of prompts.

Monitoring and responding

Once reviews start coming in, the VA can also help monitor them and even draft responses for your approval. Thanking patients for positive reviews or addressing negative ones shows engagement.

(While not an “automation” per se, having the VA handle first drafts or alerts is a huge time-saver.) Additionally, the VA will log who has been sent a request and who responded, so you have metrics on conversion rates and can avoid resending requests too often to the same person.

What This Looks Like in Practice

By systematically requesting reviews, you’ll likely see a surge in new positive reviews within weeks. One health system that implemented automated review requests saw its share of 5-star ratings jump from 78% to 88% and gathered 12,000 new high-star reviews in a short span simply by “unlocking” happy patients who wouldn’t have reviewed otherwise.

Even if your practice is smaller, imagine doubling or tripling the number of reviews you get each month. This not only improves your average rating (patients generally give positive scores, but the challenge is just getting them to post it), but also your search ranking.

More reviews and higher ratings make you more visible on Google, which can attract new patients organically.

Moreover, prospective patients often filter for providers with at least 4 stars; in fact, about 72% of patients say they only consider providers with 4+ star averages. So maintaining a strong rating is crucial for growth.

The beauty of a VA-driven system is that it runs in the background.

Your staff doesn’t have to remember, “Oh, ask John for a review.” It just happens.

And because the messaging is consistent and compliant (your VA ensures no protected health info is exposed in a review ask, keeping it generic and HIPAA-safe), you don’t have to worry about privacy issues.

Over time, this automation builds a moat around your practice’s online reputation, a steady stream of positive feedback from real patients.

All the while, you and your team can focus on delivering great care. Let the VA automate that great care into great reviews on autopilot.

It’s like having a marketing assistant working tirelessly in the background to expand your word-of-mouth referrals.

Advantages of Wishup Automation Expert Virtual Assistant

• Experienced Professionals: Every Wishup virtual assistant (VA) has a minimum of 3 years of professional experience, and we vet only the top 0.1% talent through our 6-step hiring process.
• HIPAA Compliant: At Wishup, all the medical virtual assistants are HIPAA trained for your practice.
• Fast Turnaround Time: All the medical virtual assistants you’ll work with are trained to respond within 5 minutes, and your dedicated client success manager will respond within 60 minutes during working hours.
• Proven Reliability: 98.8% client satisfaction - rated 4.8 in Trustpilot and 4.9 in Clutch.
• 36 Month Average Retention Rate: All our medical virtual assistants have a good retention rate with Wishup and its clients.
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Pricing

• Full-time Elite Automation Expert VA: $2999/month (160 hours/month)
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