Meet Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center
For over 37 years, Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center (SMOC) has been a fixture of musculoskeletal care in the Hampton Roads, VA, region, and has since grown into a multidisciplinary practice with fellowship-trained physicians and providers specializing in orthopedics, spine, pain medicine, and podiatry. Today, they’re on a mission to help patients return to lives without limits by blending technology with compassionate and patient-centered care.
The Problem
SMOC had earned a strong reputation in their community for delivering high-quality orthopedic care, but that credibility wasn’t reflected online. While some newer physicians were proactive about collecting reviews using QR code cards, these efforts varied by provider, and weren’t part of a broader strategy to attract more patients.
Without a consistent approach to managing their online presence, SMOC struggled to reflect the excellence of their in-person care online and appear in search results.
Johnny Thompkins, Director of IT and Implementation, realized their online footprint wasn’t keeping up with patients’ search habits. “I knew there had to be a better strategy out there to start seeing patients fast,” he said.
In the past, SMOC had tried a different reputation management vendor, but it proved to be too hands-on and difficult to sustain. “We wanted a hands-off approach because we don’t have an internal marketing person to fill that position,” Thompkins noted.
The Solution
Without a fully fledged marketing team and feeling the heat from an increasingly competitive local orthopedic market, SMOC needed a solution that was both effective and low maintenance; something that could support the growth of new providers, attract new patients, and uphold their quality of care.
rater8 offered the organization the hands-off, automated solution they were searching for. Integrating seamlessly with their athenahealth EHR, rater8 made it easy to start collecting verified patient reviews via SMS and email, ensuring high response rates by meeting patients on their preferred channels, all without adding extra work to the team’s already full plate.
SMOC also began using rater8’s HIPAA-Compliant, AI-assisted review responses to engage with patients and improve search engine optimization rankings.
“I really like the feature,” said Thompkins, “and engaging back with patients helps boost our SEO.”
Thompkins also noted that the replies are an authentic reflection of how the practice feels about patients, plus they save valuable time, allowing the team to stay connected to patients in a personalized way, without the manual lift of writing & editing responses for every review.
Additionally, rater8’s robust reporting tools became a valuable asset during meetings with board members and physicians. The team uses real-time dashboards and performance summaries to showcase the physicians’ progress across the organization.
“The dashboard is easy to use — it’s very clean, and straightforward,” Thompkins said. “The providers love it. They’re able to see their review growth and patient feedback all in one place.”
“The dashboard is easy to use — it's very clean and straightforward. The providers love it. They’re able to see their review growth and patient feedback all in one place.”
One of SMOC’s most notable standouts about rater8 isn’t a feature — rather, it’s the support team. When it comes to troubleshooting or support tickets, there’s never a wait, reducing operational overload for Thompkins’s team.
“Whenever we have to open a ticket,” Thompkins said, “whether it’s to add new providers or remove someone, it’s resolved almost instantly. I never have to worry. It’s honestly the lowest on my list in terms of day-to-day problems.”
“Our rater8 client success manager almost feels like part of the SMOC team,” he added.
The Results
After replacing inconsistent, manual review collection efforts like QR code handouts with rater8’s automated SMS and email requests, SMOC saw a 1,020% increase in online patient reviews within just 1 year, 93% of which were 5 stars, dramatically improving the group’s online reputation.
This steady stream of positive patient feedback has directly translated into improved visibility in search rankings, with SMOC now dominating the coveted Google 3-Pack for key search terms like “best orthopedic surgeon in Suffolk VA.”
And, as AI-driven search continues to change the way patients are seeking care, SMOC is leading the pack with three physicians featured prominently in Google’s AI Overviews for queries such as “who is the top-rated orthopedic surgeon in Suffolk VA.”
SMOC’s improved online reputation has also enabled new providers to quickly build their credibility and attract new patients. Thompkins noted: “We added two new providers roughly six months ago, and they’re already doing well thanks to all the reviews.”
With rater8, every provider, whether tenured or newly onboarded, benefits from a continuous flow of positive feedback across the platforms that matter most. This not only builds trust with prospective patients researching care online, but also signals to search algorithms that SMOC’s providers deserve top placement in local search results.
Despite lacking an internal marketing team, the future has never looked brighter for SMOC. Beyond polishing their online reputation, rater8’s solution has become a valuable tool for tracking review growth and keeping stakeholders informed, all while staying closely attuned to the voices of their patient base.
“We want to make sure that our patients feel heard,” Thompkins said. “rater8 is a great tool to allow them to have an avenue to express their experiences. Even if it’s a negative review, we pay attention, because that kind of feedback helps us improve.”
