You’re probably familiar with Sermo, the physicians-only online community with about 116,000 doctor members. We see Sermo—and their Pulse Survey—as an attractive physician relations listening post for hospitals, specialty groups or other healthcare organizations that rely on referrals from physicians.
Five challenge questions to being proactive and making the most of this marketing window Physicians don't get much "good news" about reimbursement, so you may have already noticed this important report from our nation's capital. It didn't run on the eleven o'clock news. Before adjourning just before Christmas, the 109th Congress passed and sent to […]
When a compelling offer catches your attention – such as the astoundingly low cost of only a dollar – it’s hard to resist. And when it’s only available for a limited time – in this case for one day only – serious buyers have to act immediately or lose the opportunity. The 1 Dollar-1 Day […]
This qualifies as one of the best short videos for doctors who may be wondering if social media fits their medical practice marketing and advertising plan. It’s a short (3 minute) doctor-to-doctor conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Benabio, a San Diego dermatologist. He talks about why physicians – dermatologists or other medical specialties – would want […]
Please permit this short-but-passionate message of concern about medical practices that SAY they are cutting-edge, yet their websites are crummy. Their claim is simply not credible. It’s a pitfall that medical practice marketing needs to avoid. It’s amazing how often we discover medical practices that have no website at all – or they have a […]
This little saga – based on a true story – is about an ophthalmologist, but we routinely hear the same tale of opportunity lost in nearly every healthcare profession. (Insert if you like: group practice, hospital physician, cardiologist, urologist, rheumatologist, dermatologist, or any–ologist.) The lesson for doctor/physician marketing is that being good – even great […]
A virtual office visit. Consult with the doctor online. Send a brief note. Request or cancel medical appointments, medication refills, or a referral. Physicians and patients in the upstate, Albany NY area are connecting in new ways with the introduction myCareDOT patient portal. Community Care Physicians (CCP) – a multispecialty medical group of 200 providers […]
There's another survey out that (again) confirms that physicians are reluctant to connect with patients via email. (More on that in a future post.) You know; concerns about workload, reimbursement, privacy, security, liability, etc. But now some human hearts can start the digital dialog on their own. A new type of wireless body area network […]
The play-on-words name pretty much says it all, and a creative example for ophthalmology marketing. In case you missed last week’s big event in Nashville, EyeBall 2010 was the sixth annual black tie, ballroom dancing event of the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration. Proceeds from the event support the work of the Foundation, a 501c(3) […]
If you’ve heard this before it’s worth repeating. The American Academy of Ophthalmology is out with its annual warning about the dangers of Halloween theatrical and decorative “contact lenses.” It’s an ophthalmology marketing and advertising message that merits retelling to patients, parents and their children. The over-the-counter, special effect, vampire, color, and glow-in-the-dark lens products […]
It's a clever concept...physicians and prospective patients have three to five minutes to "meet and greet" in a non-clinical, semi-social environment. The "speed dating" format is being used in cardiology marketing by physician groups and hospitals to connect with the public and get acquainted, at least briefly. The atmosphere is casual and friendly; the objective […]
The business of physician relations can be a bit bumpy sometimes, but the marketing and communications folks at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis use a systematic approach that’s shaping expectations and smoothing the road between hospital and physicians. Of course, you’ve got to observe all the rules of the road…and “regulatory guidance” means […]
New mothers may not be getting the breastfeeding support they need. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that that less than half of the nation’s moms are breastfeeding enough, and they’re calling on healthcare professionals and others to do more in the way of education and support. It opens the door for […]
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times highlighted the use of pre-med students and other college students who want to pursue careers in medicine or nursing as “medical scribes” to accompany physicians during patient appointments. These scribes carry laptop computers to enter treatment plans into electronic medical records software programs as well as follow […]
Overcoming negative, old-school ideas with genuine benefits in patient health. Nobody likes to be "sold." But there's no "selling" in communicating how products and services deliver needed healthcare benefits to patients. After almost twenty-five years consulting and helping physicians, dentists and many other healthcare professionals attract more of the patients and cases they want, I'm […]
How to craft an effective elevator speech for precision results, referrals and reputation. Everyone has an interesting message, but it's tough to be clear, concise and memorable in less than 30 seconds. Here's how to sound spontaneous and make a lasting impression with a flash opportunity.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” –George Bernard Shaw Doctors and patients don’t agree about how well they are communicating with each other. This according to a study published in the August Archives of Internal Medicine. We suspect this physician-patient communications failure isn’t limited to internal medicine […]
Nobody has a clear vision about the shape of cardiology marketing in 2014 and beyond. What is already a highly dynamic competitive landscape for private practice cardiologists and cardiology groups promises more of the same as the Health Care Reform act takes effect over the next few years. With operating costs and competition increasing, and […]
Asian, Hispanic cultures are comfortable with procedures according to a recent AACS survey. Any sort of economic rough road will do it. When the national economy is down, the American public approaches elective healthcare slowly. The last few years have been financially bumpy for many professions, including — perhaps especially — elective medical aesthetics practices. […]
Here’s a clever and easy promotional idea for urologists and anyone doing urology marketing and advertising. One urology practice we know promotes the idea of scheduling a vasectomy on the Friday leading into Super Bowl weekend. The urologist’s marketing idea is: the patient—a guy, of course—has the procedure on Friday. Then, under doctor’s orders, is […]
Gain personal and professional satisfaction plus boost your marketing plan effectiveness. We're willing to wager that you are already an expert. The professionals that we work with daily are all highly educated, experienced and smart. Almost by definition, every one of them is an expert, and they're passionate about some aspect of the work they've […]
Physician Relations personnel often tell us that they share similar problems: High-admitting doctors can be extremely demanding of hospital resources When the hospital wants to recruit one or more doctors, candidates typically ask for the hospital's help to acquire patients Once on board, new doctors often need a lot of help getting started Many admitting […]
We've marketed many thousands of doctor practices over the years, and our experience clearly shows that nothing wins doctors' hearts (and loyalty) like helping them to increase their bottom line. Beginning April 19, 2002, however, most pharmaceutical companies discontinued virtually all significant efforts to assist doctors with their practices due to the PhRMA Code On […]
How to link arms with a kindred healthcare practice for a win-win-win marketing success. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts—and so it goes with cost-effective cross promotion. With minimum time and expense, two or more healthcare entities can team-up for a healthy Return-on-Investment.
How to Avoid Looking Like "Plain Vanilla" Let's say a new family moves in a couple of blocks from your office, and the mother holds a gathering for her new neighbors. At the gathering she asks, "I'd like to find a first-rate doctor for my family. Is there anyone special here in town?" How many […]
Here are two remarkably easy-and highly effective-ways to encourage patients to refer family, friends and colleagues to your practice. The cost is almost nothing, so your Return On Investment (ROI) is through the roof. This is the closest thing you'll find to guarantee success in internal marketing, and with a little practice and persistence, it's […]
8 Extremely Helpful Guidelines for an Ideal Executive Portrait Healthcare is a people business...where trust and confidence begins with the first impressions. Here's how to create an effective professional photo that helps build and extend your first-class reputation.. OK—we'll be the first to admit that not everyone is incredibly photogenic. But a professional's professional photo […]
It's frightening. We've seen 6-figure marketing programs go down the tube six seconds after the phone rang. In each case, the carefully crafted advertising produced dozens of prospective patient calls to the practice, but none – repeat none – of these callers became patients. Why? Because they never got past the first phone call, much […]
"If you can get our phones to ring more often, we'll be happy campers!" It would be very hard to estimate how many times we've heard that request in our combined 30 years of healthcare marketing experience. Hundreds of times would be a conservative guess. "Get people to call us and we can take it […]
