What patients hear and take home is not always what you, the physician, has said and tries to convey. Then to boot, patients forget most of what was said in the conversation.
Up until now, the majority of physicians spend their face time with patients answering a standard set of questions or looking at the digital records on the computer, rather than getting to the more troubling issues that patients struggle with. This is a lost opportunity for both the patient and the doctor from engaging in a meaningful way.
Optimize the Doctor-Patient Encounter with Content
The way that office visits can be optimized is by creating content that addresses the most frequently asked questions that patients have through:
- Website content
- Information on the patient portal
- Emails
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Social Media
- Applicable third-party sites
Enable patients and caregivers to have a clear expectation of their forthcoming office or hospital appointments. Provide pre-appointment emails, letters, brochures and booklets. Have a tip sheet or in-depth FAQ sheet where patients can find solutions even when the office is not open.
When basic questions are answered on the website before patients arrive at the office, the staff can then focus on providing more personalized service when patients come for their appointments. The empowered patient of today is seeking content online before even walking through the door of your practice. Too, your content can be the answer to soothe a patient who has been surfing the net for self-diagnoses.
Most prospective patients check out physician referrals online before ever making that appointment. To encourage that new patient, you need to optimize your website and practice by:
- Personalizing your website. Introduce your staff as well as all physicians that patients may encounter. Let then know the job description of each person and have plenty of photos (both of the office itself and staff)
- Keeping all posts in sync with the services that you provide
- Striving for consistency between the feel and content of the website and the practice waiting room
- Making the content relevant and compelling
How to Create Your Captivating Content
Research what resonates with your target patients.
- What are the activities that your patients are involved in? What are the demographics?
- What are they discussing in chat rooms?
- What are they asking in forums?
- Answers to these questions allow you to personalize your content and will deliver information that is relevant to your patients and what they will feel is compelling for them.
A Vs. B
Run Split tests or A vs. B. Divide your patients into two groups and run the same copy but tweak a few words by changing them. You can then see how various forms of creative outperform compare, and what resonates with the patients you’re going after.
Content creation allows you and your practice to refine and tweak materials to get them closer to the goal: more personal, relevant, compelling and VIEWED!
No time to research what your patients want? No worries! Call 561-325-9664 for a free 30 minute consultation.
