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The Changing Shape of Healthcare and the need for Medical Marketing
You may not always think of the words “Healthcare” and “Marketing” being used together to describe someone’s specialty. Due to the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, that specialty has now become a necessity.
You can’t just hang out your shingle anymore
Previously, a physician could open their practice, hang out their shingle and the rest was history. Today’s healthcare industry is focused on marketing more than ever before. Increasing regulation, declining reimbursement and the long-term shift from volume to value have turned the heat up on physicians, practices and hospitals to change the way they do healthcare business. Cost matters now more than ever in healthcare and with more competition comes the need for ways to separate yourself in the market and actively engage with potential and current patients.
The problems with office staff trying to market and brand
Physicians and medical staff already devote a significant amount of their day to detailed documentation, signatures and paperwork. Now, they are attempting to do marketing and branding of their businesses in-house and this is not only ineffective, it takes away from potential time they could be spending at the bedside of their patients.
The need to brand your medical practice
An experienced Marketing Consultant specializing in medical marketing can step in and work with you to create a unique brand and marketing plan. Medical practices are businesses too, and as with any business, in order to thrive it needs brand recognition. In fact, if you do not take the time to build a unique brand, your patients will create one for you and it may not be what you were hoping for.
Remember, your website is a window into your practice.
To compete and thrive, healthcare providers must not only provide top notch medical services they must also have a professional web presence. Remember, your website is a window into your practice. If that website is outdated in both design and content, your potential patient may continue to search for the more visually appealing website that makes them feel like that physician is keeping up with the current medical technologies. In general, a website needs a “facelift” approximately every 18 months.