Practo India: Tracking 100K+ Reviews to Identify Top Doctors by Specialty

Introduction

In Indian Healthcare, Reviews Now Define Trust :

In India’s digital healthcare ecosystem, platforms like Practo are more than just listing services—they are the new word-of-mouth. Patients increasingly depend on verified reviews to choose the right specialist, clinic, or surgeon.

But while star ratings offer a snapshot, the real value lies in full-text patient feedback—especially for healthcare networks, insurance companies, and digital health aggregators seeking data-backed insights.

Datazivot partnered with a pan-India hospital group to scrape and analyze 100,000+ Practo reviews to pinpoint top-performing doctors by specialty and geography.

Client Overview

• Client: A multi-city hospital and diagnostics chain with 50+ centers across India
• Use Case: Build a trusted recommendation engine across specialties using patient-generated Practo reviews
• Challenge: Lack of structured insights across fragmented ratings, difficulty identifying regional sentiment patterns
• Goal: Map sentiment across doctor reviews to identify high-trust practitioners per specialty and city

What Datazivot Scraped from Practo

Top Specialties Reviewed on Practo

We focused on the following specialties:

• Dermatology
• Gynecology
• Orthopedics
• ENT
• Cardiology
• Dentistry
• Pediatrics
• Psychiatry
• General Medicine

Key Insights from 100K+ Reviews

1. Trust = Time + Listening Skills

• Doctors with frequent mentions of “listened patiently,” “explained everything,” and “didn’t rush” received 30% more 5-star ratings, regardless of city or specialty.

2. Regional Sentiment Varies Widely

• South Indian cities (Chennai, Bengaluru) had more emotionally expressive reviews (“life saver,” “best in town”)
• Tier-2 cities focused on time punctuality and affordability
• North Indian metro patients mentioned “staff behavior” more often than actual diagnosis quality

3. Specialty-Specific Themes

Sentiment Analysis Breakdown

(Sample: Dermatology – Mumbai)

Use Case Implementation

1. Ranking Algorithm Built Using Sentiment Scores + Specialty Tags

We developed a scoring model that ranked doctors using:

• Weighted sentiment (keywords like “trustworthy,” “explained,” “friendly”)
• Verified review frequency
• Specialization-specific keywords
• City-wise trust indicators

2. Dashboard for Hospital Admin & Marketing

Datazivot delivered:

• A PowerBI dashboard visualizing top doctors by city and specialty
• Drill-down options by keyword, rating, and location
• Custom filters for “Best for First-Time Patients,” “Good with Kids,” etc.

3. Suggested Callouts for Listings Based on Review Mining

e.g.,

• “Highly recommended for new mothers”
• “Known for clear diagnosis and patient care”
• “Patients trust him for post-surgery recovery guidance”

Before vs. After Implementation Metrics

Benefits for Practo Listing Optimization

• Real Sentiment Drives Discovery
  Standout keywords helped optimize profile bios and push the right doctors into top placement.
• Quickly Identify Risk Areas
  Doctors with consistent complaints around rudeness or wait time were flagged for soft-skills training.
• Reputation Management Became Proactive
  Templates and alerts were built to respond to negative reviews before they escalated on social media or impacted ranking.

Sample Data Snippet (Anonymized)

Why It Matters: Sentiment = Health Trust in India

In Indian healthcare, the emotional experience matters as much as the treatment outcome. People are anxious, vulnerable, and often unsure—making online reviews more than vanity metrics.

By scraping and analyzing Practo reviews, Datazivot gave this hospital network the tools to:

• Identify which doctors patients trust the most
• Segment top doctors for specific patient needs
• Fix negative experiences before they hurt conversion
• Turn reputation into a scalable metric

Conclusion

Don’t Just Read the Reviews—Map Them to Action :

Star ratings are only half the picture. Words like “listened,” “explained,” or “rushed” carry real emotional weight—and they shape a patient’s next booking decision.

With Datazivot’s Practo Review Intelligence, healthcare providers can:

• Rank and promote doctors with real patient trust
• Uncover gaps in communication or experience
• Build stronger healthcare journeys with data
• Improve online reputation, conversions, and care