With IPhones and IPads and IThis and IThat, today’s healthcare consumers are more technologically advanced than ever and demanding the same from their healthcare providers. Take notice of how hospitals and doctors are ramping up entire divisions dedicated to internet marketing. So how can you plug into this concept and reach new patients???
First let’s start with the basics: Did you become a doctor because you have an inner desire to help people and are rewarded by a patient’s recovery? Or simply, do you have a curiosity for modern medicine? Perhaps both are true, but in the end no matter what posses you to dedicate your life to others, you come to this one conclusion: patients equal profits. The only way you will grow your practice is by attracting new patients. So how are modern physicians achieving this? Internet and social network marketing, of course.
An article written earlier this year by Lisa Zamosky of the Los Angeles Times stated that 68 percent of patients contacted their doctors using an online service or directory. Even referrals or patients, who heard about your practice by word of mouth, still ended up using Google to find out more about you and your treatments. The patients of today want more- more research, more information, more involvement, more interaction- and they are expecting that from their doctors. It is a growing trend to connect doctors to their patients through social sites like Facebook and Twitter but also finding it beneficial to partner themselves with healthcare directories that not only allow a patient to search for a specific doctor, but sites like WhereismyDoctor.com that allow the doctors to answer a patient’s medical question and chat online. This type of connection between the doctor and patient evokes individualized personal attention. In the meantime, the doctors are provided an abundance of support from these sites with online advertising, press releases, social networking and, ideally in the end, more patients. It’s a one stop shopping opportunity for doctors who want to participate in new age marketing but don’t have the time to do it themselves.
Nashua, N.H. internist Kevin Pho, a physician, says, "Doctors who are not active online risk being marginalized." Pho continues, "If you go back two generations, doctors came to your house. They lived in your community. They probably went to the same church." With social media, he says, "what we're really doing is going back and creating a more personal experience with technology." Pho’s own Twitter and Linked-In profiles refer to him as social media’s leading physician voice.
The increased interaction of doctors and patients online has led to a new phenomenon: e-consults. E-consults are online physician consultations where doctors answer a patient’s question on non-emergency ailments such as symptoms or prescription medicines. One health information researcher found that approximately 42% of U.S. physicians have used the internet to discuss clinical symptoms with patients. In addition, more than 9 million people have attested to communicating on-line with their physician.
Because of this growing trend, major insurance companies have expressed interest. And, lucky for all doctors…it’s in your favor. Insurance companies are increasingly reimbursing doctors for online consultations. Big insurers like Cigna, Aetna, WellPoint, and a number of Blue Shield plans have moved in this direction. But how does one charge for online consultations? Typically, e-visits average around $30 per visit, as opposed to an average $100 for an in-office consultation. The positives are for everyone involved…The patient receives a quick response from the physician without leaving the comforts of their home. The Doctors are still paid for their services and the insurance companies save money.
Physician interaction on sites like WhereismyDoctor.com allows a doctor to educate and connect with patients, which allows the patient to make an informed decision without the doctor and treatment they are searching for. In turn, the doctors feel like they are not overstepping ethical boundaries nor are they persistently self-promoting themselves. Of course talking about patients on a social site or forum is never recommended; but rather the purpose is to reach out to a patient with genuine concern to forge a relationship.
So what do patients think about all this? Patients have stated that a doctor’s online presence on interactive sites like WhereismyDoctor.com sealed their decision to pick that doctor. One WhereismyDoctor.com community member states, “This is the way people are used to communicating these days. It’s great to finally connect with my doctor now the same way.” A doctor who responds to patients’ concerns online through forums and social sites without tagging on a fee is a good indicator of that doctor’s integrity.
So the question remaining is: How do you want to be found, seen, searched, researched, asked, and contacted by the “teckie” patients of today? If you’re not connected are you willing to miss out on a world of patients just waiting to connect with you? Get connected now with patients worldwide with WhereismyDoctor.com.
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