The recession has seemed to have dampen almost everything in the US except for the dramatic increase in online activity. Doctors really need to take notice of these new trends and how they market to their potential and existing patients. Combining two recent Internet statistics makes a compelling story for how physicians should re-evaluate their marketing strategy and how that strategy should be integrated with their medical practice management software.
A recent study by the Pew Internet shows that 83% of Internet users are going online to conduct research before buying a product or engaging with a service (Mandese, 2009). In addition, 80% of Internet users search for medical information online, making this activity the third most popular behind email (93%) and researching a product or service before buying it (83%) (Pew Internet, 2009).
By putting these two statistics together, people are searching for a wide variety of health information, such as H1N1, allergies, broken bones, laser peels, hip replacements, breast augmentations, and also information about the doctors that perform these procedures and treat them. Susannah Fox, author of the Pew Studies points out that “If there are doctors who are nervous, they should be nervous. This is a tried-and-true activity online, researching a product or service before you buy it.” (Chitale, 2009). The days of just getting your name in the phone book are gone.
Question: How can I better utilize my marketing efforts?
The medical industry continues to be a very competitive environment and physicians are needing to market themselves and their practices to attract new patients and keep existing ones. The question that doctors need to ask themselves is: How can I better utilize my marketing efforts?
Buying print ads in a variety of publications and seeing what response you get is not the correct way to go about it. Doctors need to have a marketing strategy and understand which campaigns generate revenue and which ones produce meager results. However, in order to completely understand the marketing efforts, a doctor needs to see more than just how many hits he or she is getting on their web site. They need to see revenue numbers based on procedures, campaigns, and other data points. This is how the doctors medical practice management software can reveal these numbers.
Yet, most medical practices can not integrate their practice management software with their marketing efforts and the possibility of truly understanding the result of their marketing endeavors is lost. The medical industry sees marketing and patient tracking as two separate parts of the medical practice. But patient tracking does just that…it tracks or records all the patient activities associated with the practice, including electronic medical records (EMR).
It is more important then ever to have these two sections of a practice connected. Looking how most advertising campaigns are run today, a practice runs a series of print advertisements. Potential patients or leads see the ad and go to the practices web site. The potential patient requests an appointment by submitting an online form or making a phone call. The practice receives the request and sets the appointment. At this point the lead has changed to a patient.
Marketing disconnect
However, this is where the disconnect starts. The information gathered from the web form or phone is rarely entered into the patient record. Any possibility of tracking the patient from a lead, to a patient, then understanding the behaviors of the patient is gone.
In addition, many medical practices market to their existing client base and not just to new potential patients. Look at all the recent advertisements and news concerning the H1N1 outbreak. Once the vaccine is available to the general public, all doctors who can administer it will want their existing patients to come into their office to get vaccinated. How does a practice track this type of marketing?
Doctors need to see the big picture
As we forge ahead into the upcoming electronic medical records paradigm due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus Package), doctors need to see the big picture. Buying an EMR solution that only solves EMR is short-sighted. Doctors will still need all the components and systems of a practice: scheduling, billing, insurance verification, EMR, document management, marketing, etc. If the medical practice has a different system for each task then a nightmare of maintenance, training, and communication will visit them each day.
Physicians that adopt a full practice management solution that tracks the patient from a lead through any and all activities associated with the practice, will be able to run detailed reports that show what campaigns are bringing in the most new patients or generated the most revenue. This gives the physician the information to make a sound decision on where to spend his or her marketing dollars that make the most bang for the buck.
Making this even more of a win-win situation, the doctor needs to select a practice management solution that qualifies for the Stimulus Package $44,000 reimbursement. Then, not only will the medical practice be more efficient and able to track patients more effectively, but the government will help to foot the bill.
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Race Proffitt has a software engineering background, has been involved with a number of start-ups, and associated with various product launches. He is currently the VP of Sales & Marketing with PatientNOW, an electronic medical records and practice management software firm. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
References.
Chitale, R. (March 5, 2009). ABC News. “Docs say keep mum but some patients want to tell all”. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2009 from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/Story?id=7008953&page=1.
Pew Internet. (Dec, 2009). “Internet activities”. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2009 from http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data/Online-Activites-Total.aspx.
Mandese, J. (July 16, 2009) Online Media Daily, “Recession fules use of internet, other media”. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2009 from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=109881.
