Showing posts with label Medical Practice Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medical Practice Marketing. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2022

3 Ways technology can level up your medical practice’s communication workflows

The world has shifted a bit in the past few years, hasn’t it? COVID-19 brought us to our figurative knees in 2020, and the weight of its impact continues to grow. And while a pandemic of this nature is bound to expose weaknesses and bring about change, I’d like to explore one area in greater depth: medical practice communication.

Healthcare is almost never the realm of early adopters when it comes to technology, but as patient behaviors evolve, it’s clear that today’s status quo is falling short. According to the HIMSS 2022 State of Healthcare Report, more and more patients are “moving away from traditional types of care.” For example, roughly one in three in the Gen Z and Millennial cohorts has used a retail clinic like Walgreens or CVS in the past 12 months.

There isn’t just one reason for this shift, but I can say this much: Patients are less tolerant than ever of disjointed care experiences filled with delays and poor communication. On the flip side, providers are still battling staff shortages and the rising tide of burnout, both of which have been supercharged by the pandemic. It’s a conundrum.

As it turns out, there are pragmatic ways to apply technology in the medical practice setting that can alleviate some of these issues, many of which are rooted in — or heavily influenced by — communication workflows. Here are three tips for leveling up your practice operations with better technology.

1. Streamline call schedule management


I can talk to you all day long about secure messaging and efficient communication, but if you don’t know who’s working or how to reach them, it’s a moot point. It’s time to stop using sticky notes, paper and pencil, fax machines, and emailed spreadsheets to maintain schedules. These are tedious and error-prone methods, and they lead to schedules that are likely to be outdated the minute they’re distributed.

The foundation for reliable communication workflows is an accurate call schedule that can be easily referenced and updated by your staff. The best communication solutions have built-in on-call scheduling management, which equips your practice with one source of truth for all matters related to scheduling. It also means a real-time schedule is readily available to anyone using the communication app, and all changes or updates to the schedule are reflected immediately — no more guesswork.

2. Tap into smart routing


Clinical communication — whether by phone, text, or any other method — doesn’t do any good if a person who can take appropriate action never sees, hears, or receives it. Maybe the operator from your after-hours answering service calls the wrong doctor to leave an urgent message, or perhaps an important message in the patient record was missed because the notification capabilities aren’t very sophisticated.

Whatever the case may be, technology exists that can ensure all of your practice communications are automatically routed according to up-to-date provider schedules, individual contact preferences, and other predetermined rules. This means messages never fall through the cracks, and as an added bonus, providers can even control how they’re reached based on time, date, urgency, and other factors.


Bypassing manual workflows with smart routing makes it easier for all staff to receive the most comprehensive and timely patient communication. Why settle for games of phone tag, rudimentary secure messaging that delivers texts to unmonitored inboxes, and other unnecessary delays?

3. Make the move to multichannel


It’s likely that many of us have had recent experiences with consumer tech that are more intuitive and satisfying than similar experiences with healthcare tech. Off the top of my head, a friend recently raved about canceling and rebooking a flight in just 10 minutes using the airline’s in-app live messaging function. It was simple, the agent was quick and helpful, and my friend is now a more loyal customer than ever.

Another friend recently messaged his primary care doctor through the patient portal about an important-but-not-urgent issue, and after getting one brief response, all additional inquiries through the portal went unanswered. He was frustrated, to say the least.

With the right setup, your practice can utilize technology that incorporates the aforementioned routing and scheduling capabilities with easy-to-use multichannel communication functionality. That’s a bit of a mouthful, but consider the possibilities of engaging patients in a structured, timely, and reliable manner via phone, text message, or even video call. After-hours call about an urgent issue? Route it to the on-call doctor. Lots of appointments tomorrow? Send automated text message reminders to all patients. Routine check-in that doesn’t require an in-office visit? Host a quick video chat.

I could go on, but the point is that you no longer have to settle for flawed processes or clunky solutions to stay in touch with your patients. By bringing all of that communication together in one orderly system that supports multichannel outreach, you’re meeting patients where they are and giving staff the tools they need to keep up with the times.

Working smarter, not harder


The past few years have proven that medical professionals are smart, dedicated, and selfless. Unfortunately, they’re often asked to do more with less, and many have simply reached their breaking point. It’s not possible to juggle so many balls without dropping a few, especially in a demanding work environment.

So my humble proposal is as follows: Think about these tips and consider how day-to-day operations at your practice would improve with technology that enables better communication, scheduling, and patient engagement workflows. There’s a tendency in healthcare to stick with processes no matter how frustrating they are, but that mindset has gotten us into trouble. If it seems crazy that putting together and maintaining provider schedules is a tedious, neverending affair, that’s because it IS crazy. It’s good to question flawed processes because that’s how we get better.

I’m not here to tell you which technology partner to work with or how to evaluate your options, but I know everybody is better served when communication and care coordination are not constant sources of frustration. By using modern technology, you can alleviate many of the factors that contribute to this frustration. And better yet, you’ll free clinicians up to focus on what matters most — taking care of patients.


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Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Why medical practices need a mass communication plan

On most days, communication in a medical practice is given little thought. Processes are in place to use a combination of communication mechanisms like phone call, email, text message and print mail to complete routine, daily tasks. These cover everything from scheduling and confirming patient appointments, to coordinating physician and staff schedules, to arranging the occasional vendor appointment.

But on occasion, these more individualized outreach efforts can not only prove inadequate but may also jeopardize safety and satisfaction. The occasion: emergencies and crises. That's when a practice — even one with a small staff and patient base — needs a mass communication plan, also referred to as a crisis communication plan. It's also when a practice needs the ability to execute that plan in a manner that's highly efficient and effective at reaching those affected by the incident, which will largely hinge upon the communication mechanisms leveraged. An effective mass communication plan allows a practice to send timely messages out to affected stakeholders fast and track whether such messages successfully reached their intended audiences.

Let's look at some of the times when a practice is most likely to need to execute a mass communication plan and then review why it's best that text messaging serves as the communication backbone for the plan.

Public health crisis. We'll lead with the type of emergency that remains a challenge for many medical practices: a public health crisis. Over the past two-plus years, practices have needed to get timely messages out to patients, staff and vendors about the various ways COVID-19 has affected their operations — everything from temporary closures, to changes in hours, to new safety protocols, to positive tests. Ongoing challenges associated with the COVID pandemic and future health crises will require practices to initiate their mass communication plan.

Natural and manmade disasters. We're in the midst of tornado season for some parts of the country, hurricane season is about to start for other parts, heatwaves continue to affect swaths of the country, and large, active wildfires are being reported in multiple states. These and other disasters cause significant damage to practices or can lead to substantial disruptions in operations if disasters affect surrounding areas. Meanwhile, manmade disasters, such as transportation accidents and cyberattacks, can do the same.

With an effective mass communication plan in place, a practice can better inform its patients, staff and vendors of any change in operations and help ensure these individuals stay off the roads and out of harm's way.

Weather. Extreme weather can have the same effects as disasters, forcing medical practices to temporarily cease operations or potentially worse. The likes of a blizzard, hailstorm and flood can damage facilities and the roads leading to and around them.

If the impact is severe enough, thus requiring significant repairs, a practice may find that it needs to remain closed for extended periods, reduce operating hours, require patients and staff to take different routes to get to the facility, or undertake other changes that disrupt typical operations. An inability to convey time-sensitive updates to individuals who need to come to the practice can lead to increased safety risks, missed appointments or late arrivals, and frustration with the experience of traveling to the facility.

Power outages/interruptions. Power outages and interruptions occur regularly throughout the country. Various factors cause power interruptions — everything from the disasters and weather issues we're already discussed to utility practices and even vegetation patterns. Practices with generators may be able to "power through" a power outage, but if a practice lacks a generator or an outage is prolonged, operations will be disrupted. Practices need the ability to rapidly and effectively inform those affected by the change in operations, both when the outage forces a change in operations and when power has been successfully restored.



The good news is that power outages by themselves are not as dangerous as disasters or extreme weather and will likely affect other types of healthcare providers (e.g., hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers) more significantly than practices. But those who travel to a practice only to find it closed will likely be unhappy that they made the unnecessary trip. Such frustration will likely be elevated for those patients who have urgent care questions, took time off work, changed plans, invested in sitters and/or traveled long distances for their appointment. In fact, some patients may not be able to reschedule their appointment easily if they must deal with any of these and other barriers to care. An effective mass communication plan can reduce such dissatisfaction and better ensure patients make it to their appointments.

Active shooters and workplace violence. News reports regularly remind us that incidents like active shooters and workplace violence are serious threats to any business. Did you know that healthcare organizations face an elevated risk? An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) study showed that the rate of serious workplace violence incidents was more than four times greater in healthcare than in private industry on average. Furthermore, healthcare alone accounts for nearly as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined. OSHA has cited a "lack of means of emergency communication" as a reason for elevated risk.

An effective mass communication plan can quickly inform practice team members — and possibly staff of other businesses in a shared building — of what is occurring within the practice. With this information, recipients can make appropriate, timely decisions about how best to assist with any response while helping keeping others away from the location of the incident. Effective mass communication can help keep others from coming to the practice while the incident is unfolding, reducing risk of further harm.

Physician absence. We've noted the potential negative impacts of patients traveling to a practice only to find that their appointment has been canceled. While this may be a minor inconvenience for some patients, it can be a significant challenge for others — potentially one that may affect their health if they have a more urgent care question or need.

An unexpected physician absence — and one when another physician is unable to fill in — is yet another time when a mass communication plan comes in handy. The sooner a medical practice can inform patients of the need to cancel their appointment due to an absence, the more time they and their family members/friends have to adjust their schedules. Outreach that explains the reason for the cancellation can reduce potential harm to patient satisfaction.

The unknown. Finally, there's every other possible emergency and crisis. Maybe there's a water main break. Maybe your phone system suddenly goes down. Maybe you're moving to a new location. What scenarios have you encountered or are you more likely to encounter due to your location? After all, "stuff" happens. You always want to be prepared for the unknown, and part of that preparation should include your ability to execute an effective mass communication plan. There is a very good chance that your local municipality or power company is already using texting to communicate about the unknown.


Why text messaging should be the backbone for medical practices' emergency communication plans

When faced with an emergency or crisis, time is of the essence. The faster and more effective a practice can respond to any of the incidents discussed above, the more likely it is that patients, staff and visitors will be kept safe and not inconvenienced as much by an operations disruption. To get timely messages out to those affected by an emergency or crisis, texting should be the communication channel of choice, with the usage of phone trees and email as secondary and supporting options.

Consider the following:Pew reports that 97% of Americans own a cell phone. There is a high probability that those individuals a practice is trying to reach will have their mobile phone with them or at least within earshot.
  • Texting is a proven form of communication, with statistics showing that 95 percent of text messages are read within 3 minutes of being sent (Forbes) 98 percent of text messages are read (Dynmark) and 90 seconds is the average response time for a text (CTIA).
  • Backup generators are standard for cell phone towers, meaning that if main power goes off, cell phones still work.
  • A growing number of healthcare and non-healthcare organizations rely on texting for emergency communication. The federal government has its own emergency text messaging system — Wireless Emergency Alerts — which has been used more than 70,000 times.
  • Most phone calls are unanswered, voicemail is "going the way of the dinosaurs" and the average person receives more than 100 emails per day, with many going unread or not read for a significant period of time.

The unmatched engagement effectiveness, ease of sending messages, and ability to monitor outreach success, paired with low setup and outreach costs, make text messaging the strongest communication option for interacting with recipients. This is especially true when a message is urgent, and a practice wants to best ensure that the communication is read and acted upon quickly. Practices should consider how texting can help strengthen the communication component of their current emergency preparedness and business continuity plan. Like preparing for an emergency and crisis, the time to deploy texting is before it's needed.


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Thursday, June 9, 2022

Creating a social media care plan for your medical practice

One of the most crucial parts of providing medical care to patients is the initial development of an individualized care plan. This unique plan creates a framework to assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate.

An effective practice social media marketing plan should be no different. In fact, much like the delivery of quality health care, implementing an effective social media campaign takes time and should follow best prescribed guidelines.

Throughout the marketing industry, there are 5 standard actions that are considered to be key elements for developing the groundwork of a successful social media plan.

First, and most importantly, is to listen. Much like you would listen to your patient, work to better understand what the current need is, what is working best and what the ultimate goal is. Also, it is important to also listen to what is not working well and is not resonating. By doing so, it will be much easier to take the necessary steps to make corrections.

Secondly, stay active. When recommending long-term approaches to health, a common practice is to encourage regular physical activity. The same goes for the health of a social media campaign. Frequent and regular activity will allow your content and posts to live up to their full potential and have the greatest impact.

Next, plan for routine follow-ups. By developing and evaluating key performance indicators (KPIs), medical practices will be able to better track and measure the success of social media efforts against established benchmarks.

Fourth, stay informed on the latest breakthroughs. Do not rest on outdated or stale content. It is important to stay relevant and current on the latest news and timely information. This is important to achieve success with the various social media platform algorithms, as they continually analyze posts to decide what appears highest in newsfeeds.



Finally, remember your bedside manner. Connecting with your social media audience on a person-to-person level is a strong practice for creating trust and ultimately, ongoing engagement.

Whether your practice is focused on primary care, specialty care, or post-acute services, the above strategies are designed to withstand the test of time and deliver optimum results.

Since 2019, New Jersey Brain and Spine, located in Oradell New Jersey, has recognized the importance of a consistent social media plan to increase their brand awareness and assist in patient acquisition.

“We continue to see a high degree of engagement from our patients and referral sources that get to know us on a more personal level through our active social media presence,” said Jonathan Tamir, CEO, New Jersey Brain and Spine. “Our social media activities are designed to show patients and potential patients what we believe in and who we are. Our content plan is designed to showcase the highest levels of expertise, conservative care plans and compassion that is at the core of what we offer.”

As a result of their social media strategy, New Jersey Brain and Spine has received 4.8 million total post impressions since implementation. In addition, the practice has earned a 52% increase in their Facebook page following.

Whether your practice’s social media goal is to help demonstrate a commitment to patients, showcase new services and capabilities, or simply present a more accessible side to your physicians and providers, your efforts do not need to be complicated.

According to the JAMA Network, social media use by physicians continues to grow with younger females having the greatest online presence. However, surgeons and more tenured physicians were found to have an overall greater social media activity and often had a greater social following.

No matter your experience level or practice specialty, by following the plan and principles above, you will be well on your way to becoming a trusted and influential source of content to a healthcare hungry consumer audience. Remember, while having the right tactics is initially important, having the right mindset as you begin this marketing journey is what will best position your practice for success.


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