Medical Practice Marketing

A little medical practice marketing can go a long way. This article will give you some ideas on how to increase your patient volume and generate more income.

Some providers are busy all the time and hardly need to market themselves. Still, other medical offices have slow periods and a little medical practice marketing can keep your volume steady especially in slow ecomonic times.

Here are a few ideas. Depending on your practice, some will work better than others. Just keep what you like and leave the rest.

Have a patient recall system and use it.


Patients are busier than ever and they need to be reminded about annual physicals, eye exams, diabetes checks, Paps, etc. By having a consistent recall system in place, including scheduled postcard mailings and phone call followups, your practice can ensure a steady flow of patients. Medical offices are usually busy, but there are slow times and this medical practice marketing strategy can help fill in the gaps.



Develop a website and buy online advertising specific to your locale.


More and more people are using the internet instead of the phone book to find services in their area. Take advantage of that by creating a website that will set you apart from other providers in your specialty and use local internet yellow pages advertising so you can be easily found in your area. Some electronic health record systems incorporate websites so be sure to investigate your options prior to moving forward with this strategy.



Reward your referring providers.


Your medical billing software should produce reports indicating who your top referring providers are. If you outsource your billing, ask your medical biller to provide this information to you.

One day every month, pick one of the top twelve referring providers and show your appreciation for their referrals by treating the office staff to bagels and coffee, ice cream, candy, or pizza.

Not only will the referring doctor appreciate the gesture, but his staff will too. You are likely to receive more referrals and, better yet, word of mouth referrals. This is an easy medical practice marketing strategy because it's easy and doesn't cost too much.



Maintain some personal trivia about your patient in their chart that you can ask them about during an office visit.


Health care providers are very busy people and it is easy to forget to connect with your patients. People like to be recognized.

This little story demonstrates:

I have a friend that had been seeing the same family physician for twenty years. My friend is sixty years old and has been running five to ten miles every day for years. He's proud of the fact that he's in such good shape.

The last time I talked to my friend he was really upset and was looking for a new doctor. Apparently, during his yearly physical, my friend's blood pressure was a little high and the doctor recommended daily exercise.

So, take the time to acknowledge your patient. The effort goes a long way. It's good to do anyway, but it's also a good medical practice marketing strategy.



Use an internet based messaging system.

Patients appreciate convenience and research shows they love services like Relay Health. A medical practice website with a patient messaging system provides convenience, privacy, and eliminates playing telephone tag.

If your patients are at work, they don't have to worry about being overheard discussing personal health issues over the phone. They can log onto a secure website and request an appointment, web visit, a prescription refill, test result, etc. Again, they like the convenience and they tell their friends.



Provide some kind of educational class for the public.


One of my clients is a physician and he teaches a yoga class twice a week at a facility close to his office. This is a great medical practice marketing tool for him. He enjoys staying fit, he is paid while doing so, and he has added patients to his practice.

Another family practice client is very interested in nutrition and gives lectures once a month at the local senior center. He leaves cards and brochures with his practice information.



Mail out a quarterly newsletter.


I know a podiatrist who also has a surgery center. He writes a newsletter and does quarterly mailings offering a free consultation. This type of medical practice marketing has increased his volume of surgical patients.

These are just a few medical practice marketing strategies that you can take advantage of.

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