Practice Marketing

New Communication Channels are Changing the Way Patients Shop for Health Care – Be Ready!

Patients have more power than they did 10 years ago.

• Patients have the power of the Internet to research physicians, and recent research suggests 44 percent do exactly that (Pew Internet and American Life Project).

• Patients have the power of instant communication to both share and gather opinions from friends, family and even total strangers about their health care experiences.

• Most importantly, patients have the power of choice. In a highly competitive health care market with more convenient access to physician information, patients can easily feel more confident in accessing options beyond the recommendations of their primary care physicians.

Generational psychology is at work here. Recent research highlights the differences in mindset between the World War II generation and Baby Boomers. Patients over 70 tended to trust the recommendations of their primary care physicians, even in the face of bad, sometimes terrible, experiences. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, are far more skeptical when making purchasing decisions in general and are much more willing to do their own research to test professional recommendations. This mindset will only become more acute in Generations X and Y.

So why does all this matter?

Increased patient power and easier access to comparative provider information creates real risks and opportunities for physicians and their practice operations. On the risk side, consumers who have good experiences may tell friends and family about them, but those who have bad experiences are more likely to communicate those details and will likely tell far more people. When you combine that tendency with the multiplying effect of frictionless internet communication and poor patient care you can do some serious damage to your reputation (aka your “brand”). For example, if one Internet savvy patient has a bad experience such as having to wait over an hour to be seen, and fumes about his/her experience on Twitter, then that one patient’s bad experience can go “viral” and become the equivalent of a Roger Ebert television review on why you should NOT go to a particular doctor.

On the opportunity side, these communication channels create new, relatively low cost ways for physicians to connect with their local communities, including their referral networks. It’s all about relationships. The internet offers physicians and practices a mechanism to create and maintain relationships with patients with very little effort. Mechanisms like online/e-mail appointment confirmations can reduce the call volume of a practice and allow patients to manage their health care on their “own” time rather than being limited to the hours of the office. On-line patient education information can further reduce calls by giving patients a place to go for quality, safe and reliable medical facts. Just being online gives a physician and his/her practice a “presence” that patients are expecting.

So what should I do now?

If you aren’t already successfully navigating the online waters, there are three core ways you can prepare for this “brave new world:”

1. Understand that the patient experience you deliver is part of your marketing mix.
   Physicians, on the whole, are essentially scientists who tend to focus on the clinical portion of the services they provide, and rightly so. However, from the patient’s point of view, the experience starts from the first interaction with office staff, even if that occurs by phone. Physicians need to recognize that rude phone service, long wait times and poor follow-up can obscure good clinical care - and conversely, that excellent service/experience can be a major positive differentiator.


2. Gather intelligence on your reputation.
   Traditional methods such as patient satisfaction surveys can help so long as they are structured to gather feedback on areas that can be improved, as well as accentuating the positive. Have a staff member periodically search internet sources for negative feedback so that problems can be addressed before they go “viral.” Finally, there is no substitute for physicians themselves soliciting feedback from both their referral relationships and their patients.


3. Develop a proactive internet advertising and communications strategy.
   You don’t have to purchase ads on Google to have an online marketing strategy. The first step is to take a look at your website and consider what it says about you and your practice. Take this opportunity to ensure all information is correct and that the website address is included on all practice materials and any online medical registries where you are listed. Consider creating a Facebook or Twitter profile to be able to comment on both negative and positive feedback, or simply try some online practice solutions like internet based appointment confirmations. When you demonstrate to your patients that you are open to communication and value their time, they are more likely to have a positive experience.