Steps and policy wording checked October 23, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Google reviews for doctors follow the same Google rules as any business, plus constraints a restaurant never faces: you can't publicly confirm who your patients are, your requests can't hint at anyone's treatment, and the shortcuts that review software sells (incentives, filtering out unhappy patients) are banned by Google and risky under the FTC. The method below works anyway: ask everyone, at the same moment, with a one-tap link.
Practice teams search for this constantly:
| Search (US, monthly) | Volume |
|---|---|
| how to generate google reviews | 880 |
| how to get google reviews | 880 |
| google reviews for doctors (avg. CPC $31.29) | 590 |
| how to get more google reviews | 480 |
| asking for reviews | 320 |
Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026.
Why steady new reviews matter more than a high average
Your star rating is "the average of all ratings published on Google for that place or business," according to Google's review score explainer (opens in a new tab). That average moves slowly once you have a few dozen reviews. What moves with every review is the picture of what your practice is like now: the new hygienist, the extended Saturday hours, the billing change last spring.
Volume also matters for ranking. Google's local ranking guide (opens in a new tab) says prominence is "based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have," and that "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking."
A steady flow is also the safer flow. Google's review policy (opens in a new tab) removes "content exhibiting unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions that are indicative of efforts to manipulate a place's rating." Twenty reviews in a weekend after two years of silence is the kind of spike to avoid. A few every week from a standing routine isn't.
When to ask: the moments patients are most willing
Pick moments every patient passes through, so the ask is uniform rather than selective:
- Checkout. The front desk mentions it while handing over the receipt or next-appointment card. Short, spoken, no pressure.
- The follow-up message, one to two days after the visit. Long enough for the patient to get home, short enough that the visit is fresh.
- The end of a course of care. The last physical therapy session, the day braces come off, the final visit of a weight-management program. Ask every patient who completes the course, not only the ones who seemed pleased.
Skip moments when a patient is sedated, in pain, upset or receiving difficult news. And don't ask in the exam room: Google says merchants "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises." Mentioning the review card at checkout is an invitation; standing beside a patient while they type is pressure.
How to ask: front-desk, text and email scripts
Each script names the practice and nothing about the care. None mentions a provider, a procedure or a condition, and none asks for a positive review.
Illustrative example: front desk (fictional Cedar Lane Family Medicine) "Before you go: if you have a minute this week, we'd really value a Google review. The link is on this card. Honest feedback helps us improve."
Illustrative example: text message "Cedar Lane Family Medicine: Thanks for visiting us. If you'd like to share feedback on Google, here's our review link: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out of texts."
Illustrative example: email Subject: "Your feedback on Cedar Lane Family Medicine" "Thank you for choosing Cedar Lane. We read every review, good or bad, and use them to improve how we run the practice. If you have two minutes, you can leave one on Google here: [link]. This message doesn't need a reply."
What to leave out:
- "If you had a great experience, please review us." That conditions the ask on sentiment.
- "Please mention Dr. Patel." Google bans requesting specific content, "including content that identifies a staff member."
- "We hope your back is feeling better." That puts health information in a message that may show on a lock screen or a shared inbox.
Make it one tap: review links and QR codes
Every extra step loses people. Google's review link help page (opens in a new tab) gives the current path:
- Open your Business Profile on a computer.
- Select Read Reviews, then Get more reviews.
- Select Copy to copy the review link, or right-click the QR code and choose Save image as.
As of October 2026, Google says "reviews QR codes can only be generated on a computer browser, not on mobile devices." Its tips page (opens in a new tab) adds that customers must be signed into a Google Account to leave a review, and that they can create one with a non-Gmail address.
For the full walkthrough, including Place IDs, shortening and the mistakes that break links, get your Google review link. To print a code for the checkout desk, use the free Google review QR code tool. No patient information is entered into either.
What's prohibited: gating, incentives and staff reviews
Two rulebooks apply: Google's review policy for anything on your profile, and the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465 (opens in a new tab), which the FTC says "went into effect on October 21, 2024" (FTC Q&A (opens in a new tab), checked October 23, 2026).
| Practice | Google's policy | FTC |
|---|---|---|
| Gift card, discount or free service for a review | Banned: no "payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" | Banned if conditioned on a particular sentiment (465.4); otherwise the incentive must be disclosed under the FTC Act |
| Raffle entry for reviewers | An incentive, so banned | "Contest entries" are listed in the rule's definition of buying a review (465.1) |
| Asking only patients who seem happy | Banned: no "selectively solicit positive reviews" | No specific ban in the rule; the FTC says it "could violate the FTC Act" |
| Staff or family reviewing the practice | Removed as a conflict of interest (current or former employment, familial relationships) | Insider reviews need a clear disclosure (465.5) |
| Review quotas for staff | Banned | Not addressed directly |
The FTC's Endorsement Guides (opens in a new tab) describe the gating problem in an example: a marketer that invites only purchasers who gave "very positive feedback" to post reviews, while unhappy ones are "simply thanked," may be acting unfairly or deceptively. Inviting all recent purchasers would not be, "even if it had expressed its hope for positive reviews."
The detail on each rule is in our review gating rules and the FTC review rule explainer.
Requests that respect patient privacy
Who your patients are is itself protected. HIPAA's definition in 45 CFR 160.103 (opens in a new tab) covers information relating to "the provision of health care to an individual" that identifies the person. Three guardrails follow:
- Send requests from the practice's own systems. Use the patient messaging tool you already use for reminders, under your existing BAA.
- Never paste patient lists into a third-party tool without a BAA. A review platform that receives names, phone numbers and visit dates from you is handling protected health information. If the vendor won't sign a BAA, don't send it the list.
- Keep visit details out of the message. No provider names for specialty clinics, no procedure names, no condition words. A text from "Lakeside Fertility Center" already says a lot; consider a neutral sender name if your platform allows it.
The same caution applies after the review arrives. Replies must not confirm that the reviewer is a patient; see our guide to replying to reviews.
Tracking reviews over time
Put a 15-minute review check on the calendar once a month:
- Total review count and average rating, written down with the date.
- New reviews since last month, and how many still need a reply.
- Any drop in count, which can signal removals (spam filtering or a policy action) worth checking.
- Whether requests actually went out to every patient seen that month.
Medfy doesn't send review requests or manage reviews, and it doesn't reply on your behalf. What it does: the free marketing audit scores your Google listing, including rating and review count, so you have a dated baseline. Inside the Base plan, Business Profile data sits in the same dashboard as Search Console and Google Analytics. For the wider picture of replies, removals and vendors, start at our guide to reputation management for doctors.
Frequently asked questions
Can a medical practice text patients asking for a Google review?
Yes, if the practice already texts patients through its own messaging system and the message stays generic. Send it from a platform covered by your BAA, include only the practice name and the review link, and leave out the provider, visit type and treatment. Send the same text to every patient seen, not only the ones you expect to be happy, and respect anyone who opted out.
Can we offer a gift card for leaving a review?
No. Google's policy bans offering payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for a review, and removes reviews posted because of one. The FTC rule bars incentives tied to a positive or negative sentiment, and the FTC warns that undisclosed incentives can still break the FTC Act. A raffle among reviewers is an incentive too. Thank patients for their time instead.
Is it OK to ask only happy patients for reviews?
No. Google's review policy says merchants may not selectively solicit positive reviews from customers. The FTC rule has no specific ban, but the FTC's own Q&A says the practice could violate the FTC Act, and its Endorsement Guides describe a near-identical scheme as potentially deceptive. Ask every patient seen in a given period, with the same message, whatever you expect them to say.
How many Google reviews does a practice need?
There's no official number. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and patients compare you with nearby practices, so use the review counts on competing profiles in your area as the benchmark. A steady monthly flow beats a one-time push, because a sudden burst can resemble the unusual review patterns Google's policy says it removes.