From Pilot to System Growth: Building and Scaling Provider Reputation Strategy

WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center & Wheeling Hospital

Overview

Two mid-sized hospitals within the WVU Medicine system set out to strengthen how patient reviews and experiences are captured, shared, and leveraged across their growing and competitive markets. With multiple hospitals serving a variety of  markets, leadership recognized the opportunity to create a consistent, scalable approach to digital reputation management—one that supports patient engagement, provider visibility, and brand alignment.

This effort began in May 2025 at Camden Clark Medical Center, where a structured approach was developed, piloted, and expanded across multiple service lines and multiple facility locations through the utilization of the RLDatix PX & Growth module. Building on that foundation, Wheeling Hospital accelerated adoption of the model across select service lines—demonstrating how a proven strategy can scale efficiently within a health system.

Together, these efforts illustrate a practical framework for both establishing and accelerating reputation management in healthcare.

Establishing the Foundation: Camden Clark Medical Center

Nicole Williams, Digital Strategist at WVU Medicine Camden Clark, led the development of a structured reputation management program designed to make it easier for patients to share feedback while equipping  providers with meaningful operational insights.

Rather than launching broadly, Camden Clark implemented a phased, data-informed approach focused on building trust internally with provider leaders, validating the approach, and demonstrating the value of patient reviews early in the process.

Phased Implementation Approach

Phase 1: Pilot Launch
A group of approximately 30 providers voluntarily participated in an initial rollout. Clear communication and transparency ensured providers understood how patient review invitations worked and how results would be measured. Ambulatory clinic patients received a text or email from their provider beginning 24 hours post -visit asking for a star rating and any other feedback.

Phase 2: Organic Expansion
As early participants began receiving detailed patient feedback, interest grew across additional providers and clinic locations. Regular reporting and open communication helped to build confidence and accelerate adoption.

Phase 3: Broader Integration
The program expanded across service lines and facilities, supported by structured, monthly reporting that connected review engagement, profile visibility, and patient inquiry activity.

Phase 4: Brand Expansion (In Progress)
Efforts are underway to extend patient feedback pathways to the hospital’s broader brand presence, capturing experiences across outpatient and hospital-based care.

Measurable Outcomes

Through this structured approach, Camden Clark achieved significant growth in patient engagement:

• 34,000+ review invitations distributed
• 32% click-through rate
• 12% conversion to published reviews
• 4,000+ public reviews captured
• 4.9★ overall rating

The program expanded from an initial pilot of 30 providers to more than 100 providers across multiple service lines and facilities, demonstrating both scalability and sustained provider engagement over time.

Beyond the metrics, patient feedback began reinforcing WVU Medicine’s Four C’s —Compassion, Commitment, Competence, and Communication—demonstrating alignment between patient experience and organizational values. “I started noticing those words were actually showing up in the reviews,” shared Nicole. She turned this into an internal engagement tool, publishing provider shout-outs on the hospital’s intranet. This validated that WVU Medicine’s cultural values aren’t just internal talking points – they’re showing up in real patient experiences.

Accelerating Adoption: Wheeling Hospital

At WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, Phil Carl, Director of Marketing and Communications, leveraged Camden Clark’s proven model to accelerate adoption.

With the framework, workflows, and internal proof points already established, Wheeling was able to focus on implementation and provider engagement.

Accelerated Adoption Strategy

• Rapid onboarding with 30 providers
• Continued growth across key service lines

By building on a proven model, Wheeling reduced implementation friction and accelerated adoption within its organization.

"We have the most diverse collective of healthcare professionals I’ve ever worked with, and being able to scale across specialty groups has really helped us secure buy-in,”

Phil explains.

System-Level Impact

Wheeling’s implementation demonstrated how reputation management can support broader organizational priorities, including:

• Strengthening digital presence and search visibility
• Supporting system-wide SEO and website strategy
• Enhancing provider visibility across service lines
• Contributing to a more consistent patient experience

By positioning reputation management as strategic infrastructure, rather than a standalone marketing initiative, Wheeling helped reinforce adoption at both the local and system level.

From Pilot to Scalable Framework

Together, Camden Clark and Wheeling illustrate two critical phases of successful implementation:

Foundation — Camden Clark: Pilot, validate, and expand across facilities and service lines
Acceleration — Wheeling: Adopt quickly and scale across service lines using a proven model

This progression demonstrates that a thoughtful pilot reduces risk, early success creates momentum, and proven models enable faster adoption.

Sustaining and Expanding the Approach

As adoption grows, governance and sustainability remain key priorities.

Ongoing efforts across WVU Medicine include centralized monitoring and reporting, continued provider engagement and recognition, integration with patient access and digital strategy, and evaluation of how diverse patient populations engage with feedback tools.

Patient feedback is also being used to inform operational improvements, such as enhancing communication around scheduling and patient expectations.

The Bottom Line

WVU Medicine’s experience demonstrates how reputation management can evolve from a localized initiative into a scalable, multi-hospital strategy.

By combining Camden Clark’s structured, phased foundation and expansion with Wheeling’s accelerated adoption across select service lines, the organization has created a framework that improves provider brand reputation in competitive markets, strengthens patient voice, supports provider engagement, and aligns with broader strategic goals.