How important is a website for a physician in business?
Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at 12:40PM 
It shocks me when physicians (and others in business!) boast that they don't have a website for their practice or business -- although I confess I no longer hear that very often.
It's safe to say that any business that takes itself seriously and lacks a website is like a household without a telephone - decidedly anachronistic!
According to a recent article in The News and Observer of the Research Triangle, North Carolina, patients expect to learn about their doctor and his or her practice, and be able to search the Web for information on their medical symptoms and conditions. It has become a way of life!
"The Internet is permeating nearly every aspect of daily life, and doctor-shopping is no exception. Nearly a third of the people who surf the Web use it to research doctors or hospitals, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which explores the Internet's effect on families, communities, work and home. That's up from about one in five in 2002."
In turn, physicians are waking up to the reality of the Internet age and creating websites that reflect their philosophies and practice policies, and even offer tools for secure e-mail communication, online appointment scheduling and medication refills.
That is good and efficient and entrepreneurial, in my opinion.
Of deeper concern to physicians is the realization that they are being graded. Sites are springing up that encourage patients to rant, rave and opinionate about the care they receive from physicians and hospitals. Perhaps the best known at present is HealthGrades, a site that.....
......lets you get access to:
...... as well as:
What does this mean for physicians in business - be it clinical practice or running another business of your own?
This trend provides both a headache and an opportunity.
The painful part is having to take control over managing your image or "brand". It's time to acknowledge that physicians can no longer hide behind the HMO contract that siphons patients to them, or their technically-skilled but lousy-bedside manner that intimidates patients into meekness.
The opportunity is being able, in this highly connected world, to get your great name out with far greater speed and influence than ever before. Dedicated, caring, competent physicians can reap the kudos they deserve in this democratic brave new world of patient empowerment.
Three resources at the top of my list for anyone wanting to understand modern-day marketing and to manage their web presence are:
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Growing your Business with Google by Dave Taylor (do not be fooled by the title!)
-
Get Slightly Famous, Second Edition by Steven Van Yoder (podcast interview with Steve coming later this month. As I am such a fan of his book and his thinking, I was thrilled when he agreed to be interviewed)
-
The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott.
And if you find all this web stuff puzzling or too complex, contact me. Let me know if you'd like me to put a short course together to help you make sense of this all, and assist you in developing a plan of attack, as your best form of defense!
Reader Comments (4)
Thanks for making my book one of your top resources! I apprciate that. You're right, physicians really should have a site. I know many professionals who have stopped doing traditional marketing like yellow page ads becuase the web gnerates so much business for them.
Cheers, David
I'm honored to have you stop by! And I have your book right next to me on my desk - it's an excellent read, and guide to making sense of the "new rules"!
Just met one of your clients, Dr. Ellen Penno at the American Academy of Ophthalmology and decided to look her up on Google. No website yet, but I will hopefully be allowed to help her with that. Just checking out your site and came across this article. I couldn't agree more, but then again, I'm a web marketing consultant, so I might be just a little more enthusiastic on this point than most.
I would recommend a final section: The Commitment. Just launching a website isn't enough. It needs to be maintained and promoted.
Thanks,
Jonathan
Thanks for commenting!
You are so right - The Commitment is what it is all about -- as I am learning from studying more about search engine findability .
I am shamelessly biased in favor of scrapping all traditional websites and building them on blogging platforms instead. This allows the website owner full control over the content and enables them to keep their websites full of fresh relevant search-engine friendly content!