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Your Guide to Leveraging the Web
trusted partnerships | care optimization | complete health
SERVICE LINEStrategy Group
Understanding Online Opportunities for Your Facility or Practice andHow to Implement Them
Table of Contents
Story of the Online Patient Decision Making Process
So You Want To Get Found Online...
Now That You’ve Been Found, What Do They See?
Make Sure They Get To You
Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About...
3 Steps to Easy Online Reputation Management
We Can Help You Put the Pieces Together
Bonus Tool: Website Checklist Worksheet
Website Development Packages
Examples of Custom Website Development
Notes Page
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trusted partnerships | care optimization | complete health
SERVICE LINEStrategy Group
Page 2
STORY OF THE ONLINE PATIENT DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
The online healthcare consumer is majorly impacting the healthcare industry. They are shopping around for healthcare services the same way people shop around for hotels, restaurants, and running shoes. Their journey begins at a search engine, like Google, where they enter an injury, medical conditions, or specialty that, with luck, will lead them to you.
AWARENESS/NEED
The story begins when the healthcare consumer has a need. For example, let’s say a person injured their knee due to many years of daily running. Instead of immediately calling their primary care physician they research online by searching “knee pain” and “runner’s knee” and learn that sometimes runners need replacements due to repetitive wear and tear on the joint. This is the first stage. The healthcare consumer becomes aware of the need for medical treatment, and they go online to research solutions.
01
02CONSIDERATION
Next, the healthcare consumer filters through search results and discovers they will definitely need to a visit a doctor to plan treatment for their knee. They also learn that a local same day surgery center provides excellent outpatient services should they need surgical intervention – including knee replacement procedures! Factors they take into consideration during this phase are the doctor’s and facility’s general online reputation through ratings and reviews, the location of the physician and facility in proximity to their home, the educational content on their sites, and other pieces of information such as medical skills and services and background.
We’ve broken down the online patient decision-making journey into four steps. Throughout this guide we will show you how your practice or facility can appeal to the healthcare consumer at each stage of this journey.
CALL/OFFICE
Once the healthcare consumer finds the physician or facility they believe is the best fit for their need, they call or click through the site to schedule an appointment, ask questions, or find a physician directory. During this phase, the healthcare consumer takes into account how easy it is to schedule an appointment with a physician practice through the physician’s website or through the facility’s physician directory. Also, this is the first point of contact, so it is important whether you’re a physician or facility, that they feel like they made the right choice.
03
APPOINTMENT
Whether you like, know it, or not, patients go online to share their experience. This appointment has a big impact on the doctor’s and facility’s online reputation. The process comes full circle when the patient who found you through online research goes back online to write a review on one of the major rating and review sites.
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By leveraging the web, you can accomodatethe online healthcare conmsumer into your practice.
Understand Search Engines
Ninety-six percent of people who find you on the internet won’t connect to your website directly. They will start at a search engine – like Google. They enter your name, your practice, a specialty, or a medical condition into the search field and Google will decide if your website matches the search criteria – if it thinks you don’t match, it won’t show your name in the list.
Imagine that the internet is a giant spider web, made up of billions of interconnected pages, files, videos, and other media. The search engine’s job is to crawl the entire web, like a spider, indexing all of the information to decipher which websites will be relevant and meaningful to search engine users. The search engine spider not only gathers the relevant and meaningful websites, it also ranks them, using specific and relevant criteria, in order of what will be most useful to the online healthcare consumer.
The search engine spider looks for websites that are well-programmed, free of viruses and malware, uniquely valuable in the content they deliver, user-friendly, and ready for viewing on multiple devices, among other factors. There are many actions you can take to gain ranking in search engines.
AWARENESS/NEED
In this phase, it is most important that the healthcare consumer, who goes online to do research, can actually find your facility or practice website online and associate it with their need. (You certainly don’t want them to see your competitor’s facility or practice information instead.) So, how do you make sure you show up?
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Awareness/Need
The healthcare consumer becomes
aware of the need for medical treatment,
and they go online to research solutions.
01
Dr. Joe Smith
searchresults.com
Best Surgery CenterArlington, Texas
SO YOU WANT TO GET FOUND ONLINE…
Understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to your website by improving the site’s ability to appear and rank highly in the results returned by a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing. SEO impacts natural or organic search results, as opposed to paid advertising.
There are many technical factors that impact SEO, from the keywords used on your page to the way your site is structured. Your site may already employ some of the techniques required to rank highly in search engine results, but be lacking in
others. Therefore, a thorough assessment of where your website stands currently is critical to understanding how it can be further optimized for improvement. With strong, well done programming, your site will show up higher in the results page on a given search.
Understand Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
SEM is a form of internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results through paid advertising.
While there are many bells and whistles available with Search Engine Marketing, the most fundamental features for practice engagement include paid ads on the most popular search engines, keyword retargeting, and measuring effectiveness of campaigns through metrics and reporting. Again, a thorough assessment of where your website stands currently is critical to understanding how to most effectively utilize SEM for improvement.
The end goal is always to increase your website’s visibility online so that potential patients can find it easily when they are searching
for a provider or facility, resulting in a new patient.
searchresults.com
Dr. River SongYour name way up here
searchresults.com
Dr. River SongYour name way up here
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NOW THAT YOU’VE BEEN FOUND, WHAT DO THEY SEE?
CONSIDERATION
Because many healthcare consumers are shopping for care providers online, care provider ratings and reviews, in addition to websites, provide the first impression to a potential patient.
Scenario: Doctor A and Doctor B provide the same services. John Doe is comparing both providers through online research. Doctor A’s website is easily found and John Doe sees that they accept his insurance plan. Mr. Doe can see through other search engine results that Provider A has high star ratings on sites such as Healthgrades and Vitals. In the initial search results, John Doe cannot find Doctor B’s practice website, but he finally spots it on page 2 of the search results. There are some positive reviews about Provider B online, but they all seem to be from 2+ years ago. John Doe doesn’t get a sense of confidence from the available information about Doctor B, and he goes back to Doctor A’s website to schedule an appointment.
In the above scenario, you can see how search engine visibility, positive online sentiment, and a practice website with the right tools for conversion, assisted the patient in making a decision about which provider to see. These elements of the Consideration phase are critical to leveraging the web for practice growth. This same scenario applies to facilities as well.
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Consideration
The healthcare consumer shops
around online for the right facility or
physician to fit their need.
02
S I T E
Doctor A Doctor B
You can address these elements through:
Ц Online Reputation Management
Ninety-three percent of healthcare website visitors stated that rating information was “very useful” or “somewhat useful” to their decision-making. What are your patients saying about you online? It is important to take an active role in monitoring and managing your online presence by reading, responding to, and soliciting existing patients for good reviews.
Ц Claiming your online listings on top directory sites
Claim all of your online listings on top directory sites, making sure your name, contact information, and address is accurate in all places. Your listing on Google My Business is especially important because many other directory sites use it to populate the information on their own pages. Add as much information about you and your practice that you can.
Ц Ensure your website has tools to capture and convert the online healthcare consumer
Think about what the patient might want to know when they are considering you for their care. The website should list important patient information, such as common service lines, accepted insurances, what to expect at their appointment, physician photos and biographies, to name a few. Once they have that information, does it provide reasonably easy ways to schedule an appointment, or get in touch with you if they have any questions from every page?
�����
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Call/Office
The healtcare consumer calls or clicks through the
website to schedule an appointment and
make their visit.
03
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Metrics & Measures
Various tools are available for tracking and analyzing the success of all the marketing tactics you’re using to move potential patients to the Call/Office phase. It’s important to establish a reporting system and know where your marketing dollar is best spent. Many of the tools have user-friendly dashboards that anyone can pull information from.
CALL/OFFICE
Once the online healthcare consumer has made the decision to make an appointment, make scheduling the appointment or finding your physicians as simple as possible. Facilities should have their contact information displayed at the top of the homepage and on every page throughout the website. They should have a detailed physician directory which links back to each physician’s practice website. Front office staff at a facility should know to direct incoming calls regarding physician appointments back to their physician utilizers – do this by having a rotating list of physicians and note each time a physician’s name is shared so each name is provided to a potential patient equally and fairly. Physicians need to utilize their website to share important contact information and have out of office or hold messages in case potential patients call after hours.
Online SchedulingFor physicians, an online scheduling application installed on your website is an effective tool for tapping into the internet savvy consumer to give your practice the competitive advantage. With an online scheduling system, you can offer a convenient way to access your practice and in turn ease office call volume for your office staff for both new and existing patient appointment scheduling.
Contact Information
Whether you decide to pursue an online scheduling program or not, it is important to give the online healthcare consumer every opportunity to contact you from anywhere they are on your website. Your phone number, a contact request form, and a link to appointment scheduling information must be on every page on your website.
Online Patient Paperwork
Lighten the burden of initial intake paperwork and forms, by offering your patients an easy way to complete and submit them before they step into your office. Options include PDF forms that your patients can print and fill out, PDF forms that your patients can fill out electronically and print, or completely digital forms that the patient fills in and submits online. You can shorten wait times in your lobby and thereby the total amount of time your patients have to spend in your office.
MAKE SURE THEY GET INTO YOUR OFFICE
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LET’S GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT…
APPOINTMENT
The healthcare consumer shares their experience on rating and review sites.
The process comes full circle when a patient who found you through online research goes back online to write a review. Whether you ask for feedback or not, patients share their experiences online. If the patient had a negative experience, it’s possible they could write an unfavorable review about the practice or facility that doesn’t reflect the standard of care provided. On the other end of the spectrum, if the patient had a positive experience, they may also decide to share
Appointment
The healthcare consumer shares
their experience on rating and review
sites.
04
their thoughts on a rating and review site. A positive online review will help convert other potential patients who are doing online research.
There are many benefits to having a solid strategy for managing your online reputation.
• Search engines recognize when you have a poor or non-existent online sentiment. Good reputation management can further support your SEO efforts!
• A poor or mediocre review does not have to define your online reputation. You can equip yourself with tools to diffuse poor reviews and continually improve your services.
• Positive ratings drive revenue. Harvard Business Review reported that an increase of 1 star rating can lead to an average of 7% increase in revenue.
3 STEPS TO EASY ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
01: Develop a system for generating reviews from satisfied patients.
Do you currently have a way to solicit positive online reviews from happy patients? There are a multitude of ways this can be done, including having a staff member ask them to consider writing a review upon conclusion of the appointment, or procedure, or generating an email that goes to all patients within a designated period of time.
02: Monitor review sites and look for ways to improve patient experience.
Monitoring review sites to see what your patients are saying can give you great insight to the quality of your service. It sheds light on opportunities to improve that you may not have been aware of previously. It also gives you an idea of what is valuable to your patients and where they appreciate things going right.
03: Respond quickly and appropriately to reviews.
Occasionally responding to positive reviews can be a good way to show your patients that their review was heard, and that you appreciate their business. When a negative review occurs, you should respond to it promptly and in a professional and courteous manner. Keep in my mind that other potential patients will see your response. By diffusing the situation, you show your patient that you care about improving quality of care when something goes awry.
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WE CAN HELP YOU PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER
USPI’s Service Line Strategy Group is here to work with you. We can help you navigate, solve and succeed with:
Page 11
Awareness/Need
The healthcare
consumer becomes
aware of the
need for medical
treatment, and
they go online to
research solutions.
01Consideration
The healthcare
consumer shops
around online for
the right physician
and facility to fit
their need.
02Call/Office
The healtcare
consumer calls or
clicks through the
website to schedule
an appointment
and make their visit.
03Appointment
The healthcare
consumer shares
their experience on
rating and review
sites.
04
• Website Development• Search Engine Marketing• Business Listings Management • Online Reputation Monitoring and
Management
• Search Engine Optimization Review & Repair Service
• Much more!
As a team, we’ll assist you in leveraging the growth opportunities available to your practice on the web. Start now by visiting us online at USPI’s Service Line Strategy Group or call us toll free at 855.207.5230.
We’ve included a bonus tool! Use the Website Checklist Worksheets on the following page to assess your practice or facility website and see
if you’re missing out on new opportunities for practice growth.
Use this worksheet to evaluate the function and value of your website. Go through each item and check to see that it exists on your website. If you rank anything less than an A-Grade, you risk missing out on new patient opportunities from online healthcare consumers.
A “C-grade” website must have:
BONUS TOOL: WEBSITE CHECKLIST WORKSHEET
F Contact Form
F Contact Information prominently displayed on all pages, top right corner
F Patient forms—PDFs or electronic
F Service line content
F Patient-centric content for each procedure
F Billing and insurance information
F Mobile Responsive webpages
F Site Map—submitted to major search engines Google, Yahoo, and Bing
F Easy navigation
F Well-programmed Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - including keywords
F Google Maps integration
If your practice website has the basic items listed above, your website is passing and probably helps you acquire a few patients a year.
A “B-grade” website must have:
Everything above, plus:
F Photos or images on every page
F Eye catching design
F Website design and colors reflect the practice’s or facility’s brand
An “A-grade” website must have:
Everything above, plus:
F Video Content, if applicable
F Eye-catching design
F Search function
F Testimonials throughout the site
F Links other prominent, non-competitive healthcare resources and organizations
F List of specialist on each specialty page with links to the physician directory or to the practice website
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If your website includes everything listed above in categories C, B, and A — Congratulations!You have a great, high-functioning website designed to convert
the online healthcare consumer into a patient!
BETTER
$4500More pages, enhanced features,
& great support.
Up To 15 Pages
Custom Branding
Mobile Ready
Customizable Content
CMS Platform
CMS Training
2 Hours Monthly Support for One Year
10 High Resolution Images
Google Maps Integration
Upload 10 of Your Images
Advanced Search Engine Optimization
Video Capability
Contact Form
PDF Patient Forms
EHR / Patient Portal Access
Google Analytics Dashboard
Existing Social Media Integration
Client Approvals
BEST
$5500Everything You Need To Dominate
The Web!
15 + Pages
Custom Branding
Mobile Ready
Customizable Content
CMS Platform
CMS Training
3 Hours Monthly Support for One Year
Up to 30 High Resolution Images
Google Maps Integration
Upload All of Your Images
Premium Search Engine Optimization
Local Search Engine Optimization
Video Capability
Contact Form
Electronic Patient Forms
EHR / Patient Portal Access
Google Analytics Dashboard
Existing Social Media Integration
Client Approvals
One Year of Access to Reputation.com Online Reputation
Management
Website Development PackagesWebsites made simple for USPI facilities. from SERVICE LINE
Strategy Group
Pick the package that’s right for your facility.
972.385.4277 | www.uspiservicelines.com | [email protected] Page 13
Service Line Strategy Group has created a simple, streamlined website process with USPI facilities in mind. After years of web development experience, we’ve become experts on what our facilities want and need. We’ve created the perfect balance of customization and affordability that will allow facilities to have a completely unique website that reflects the quality care and service provided each and every day, at an attractive price. We’ve created this process to be as hands-off or as hands-on as you want it to be, and handcraft each website with community engagement and patient acquisition in mind.
EXPLORE EXAMPLES OF CUSTOM WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT THOUGH SERVICE LINE STRATEGY GROUP
See an example of how a surgery center and physician worked together to create a digital pathway for the patient - from physician to facility or facility to physician:
ocomhospital.comOklahoma Center for Orthopaedic
& Multi-Specialty Surgery
mountainempiresc.comMountain Empire Surgery Center
parkwayrecoverycarecenter.comParkway Recovery Care Center
phoenixmetrosc.comMetro Surgery Center
thesurgerycenterofnac.com nacsamedayjoint.comnacortho.comPage 14
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notes:
Produced by USPI’s Service Line Strategy Group.
Phone: 1 (855) 207-5230
Email: [email protected]
www.USPIServiceLines.com
trusted partnerships | care optimization | complete health
SERVICE LINEStrategy Group
