Managing Your Online Presence

Managing your online presence involves more than just creating a website. It also includes monitoring your patient reviews on sites such as Yelp and other MD rating websites, plus discovering and controlling what your own name produces when searched for on Google, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other online resources.  It is important to proactively manage your online presence and check the web frequently to determine patient perception of you and your practice. Marketing a practice now includes:

1. Assuring that information about you and your practice is accurate and up-to-date.
2. Knowing what your patients are saying about you, the physician or group, your staff and your practice.
3. Assessing and correcting misconceptions about your practice on review sites such as Yelp, HealthGrades or RateMDs, and responding proactively to patient complaints.
4. Conveying important information about your credentials, your practice, as well as helpful descriptions of medical conditions, surgeries, and procedures to your patients.
5. Create efficiencies for your practice and increase customer service by posting online patient registration forms and/or scheduling appointments.

What do your patients find when they GOOGLE you?

With the exception of the elderly (and even they are tech savvy today), most patients don’t use the telephone book or call information when locating their own physician or finding a new one.  They use internet search engines to quickly find the telephone, address and website of a practice. If you move your practice, be sure to update your online information immediately.  When referred to several doctors, patients will often make decisions based on the information they find online.  Take a professional picture of yourself with a warm, smiling face and provide a brief but comprehensive list of your credentials. Include your philosophy of how you treat patients and make it patient friendly. You may wish to include your hobbies or interests to make yourself more approachable. Profiling staff members is also a
good idea.   

Use Search Engine Optimization for your name to appear first on search engines.  Registering with online directories will help your name, location and a map to be among the first results to appear. You don’t want the first item to pop up on a search engine to be a negative rating review site. Check your online presence once a month and use any negative reviews to correct bedside manner, staff customer service or office policies and procedures. Do not single out any staff members in meetings, but discuss negative reviews with problem solving for change. Reward positive feedback and make this a part of performance reviews.

Branding your Image

Create a consistent brand that carries through your website and office materials. Choose a logo, colors, and style that create a standard for your practice. It can be as simple as the doctor or group name in a font, or a professionally designed logo with an image. For example, one medical oncology and breast surgery practice has a purple iris theme that was carried out in all logos, stationery, brochures, website, business cards, and includes giving the patient a vase with a purple iris after surgery.  

If you are profiled in TV, radio or newspapers or other on-line magazines, place a clip or link on your website. This allows your patients to view this “third party endorsement” which gives you additional credibility.

Ostensible Agency

If the group is actually an expense share arrangement of solo practices or combination or sole proprietor/corporation but call themselves a group name, the group is creating ostensible agency/partnership and thus has the same liability as a true integrated group.  Many physicians are unaware of this legal doctrine. This holds that if the public, patients and other physicians think the group is a true integrated group, then the group is all liable for each other just as if they were a true group.   Review CMA on-call legal documents on this subject or contact your malpractice carrier.  All websites, stationery, business cards, signs on walls and doors must be clear that this is an association of independent practices.  

Social Media

You may want to join one of the popular social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others that are relevant to your business. Joining these websites give you a face, and gives you the ability to more proactively manage your online image.  Have new staff sign your office personnel policies and procedures stating that they will not utilize social media sites during work hours unless they are specifically charged with updating your website or profiles. Make it clear that harassment of staff or revealing patients of the practice
via social media is a breach of confidentiality that can be grounds for termination.  

Blogs

Writing short posts about something newsworthy or educational about you, your specialty or medical issues helps you stay relevant.  Adding this to your website will increase your search ratings and get your message out.

Links to Other Medical Websites

Why have patients view websites that may contain inaccurate or biased medical information when you can provide them with medical sites you know are trustworthy? Put links on your website to your medical or specialty societies, and organizations you would want patients to view.