Here are seven underused areas of online potential to have a big impact on spine surgeons and their practices.
1. Introducing yourself to the public. Even when patients are referred by their primary care physicians, they are searching for their surgeons online to learn more about them and decide whether they want to take the referring physician's advice or seek another specialist.
"It's becoming more and more important for all physicians, especially spine surgeons, to have an online presence," says Douglas Won, MD, director and founder of Minimally Invasive SpineCARE in Irving, Texas. "Patients are becoming much savvier and they want more details about the surgeons they are visiting. It's important to have this information easily accessible to them, and the internet is a great way to do that."
While surgeons may not want to think about their online presence as a marketing effort, patients want to view that information on their own time and may decide to look elsewhere if they can't find it.
"Spine is a competitive market and you can utilize this tool to expand your practice," says Dr. Won. "Optimize your website so patients can easily find you, even if they aren't looking for a specific surgeon. So, if they search 'back pain' or 'neck surgeon' in your area, you want to be one of the first links that pops up."
2. Online word-of-mouth potential. Physicians traditionally depend on word-of-mouth to grow their practice and patient base, but increasingly those referrals are turning digital and have the potential to reach a much larger audience than just one or two friends of family members.
"In this industry, your reputation and what patients think of you will carry its weight decades into your career," says A. N. Shamie of UCLA Spine Surgery "The best way to establish yourself is through word of mouth, and that's important. Patients can now share their positive (and negative) experiences and recommend you to a whole new online community."
You can update your website to include positive patient feedback or highlight your strengths, but be careful to stay within legal boundaries.
"You have to be careful when you are putting information on the internet," says Dr. Won. "Make sure you are HIPAA compliant. It's not a bad idea for attorneys to review content before publishing it online. If you claim something on your website and patients don't feel they've received that experience, you could have trouble."
3. Give patients control over their experience. Patients want more control over their healthcare and medical appointments; this starts with their ability to schedule an appointment and interact with you on their time.
"You can give patients the power to make their own appointment online," says Dr. Won. "They can go on the website and make an appointment instead of talking to your operator during business hours. We have a patient portal on our website where patients can schedule the appointment when it's convenient for them. I think that's a good function that will enhance the surgeon's practice."
Once the patient has created a profile on the patient portal to schedule an appointment, they will also have access to their medical records. Furthermore, they can email the practice with questions and provide feedback when they have time.
"We are making the process more efficient for patients and providing them the ability and power to control their own destiny," says Dr. Won. "They are going to have a lot more ownership of their healthcare and experience. It makes them feel more comfortable with their care."
4. Target the right audience. Unlike with traditional marketing efforts, online analytics allows companies to target a distinct demographic to optimize their advertising. New tools are now available to tailor web pages so they show up online when people search certain topics or have a history of visiting related websites.
"Surgeons can use the world wide web to gain access and get in front of an audience who is searching for a specialist from the comfort of their home anywhere in the world," says Dr. Shamie. "There is a tremendous opportunity to specify where your practice or your individual information appears in search engines."
Surgeons can use different tools to ensure their website appears when someone in their area searches for back pain specialists, or other key issues. "It's not just distributed to everyone like a magazine ad," says Dr. Shamie. "Current technology allows you to specify a target audience, and when and where you appear in the search engines. This is a powerful tool that most industries are currently using. As doctors, we are behind other industries in utilizing these helpful tools; there is still a common belief among most physicians that good doctors don't need to advertise. This statement is mostly true, but you also don't want to lose out on the opportunities that modern technology is offering you."
5. Provide patient education. Surgeons have the opportunity to provide patient education articles and videos online to benefit their patients as well as people around the world. They can create single articles, daily blogs or informational videos about what patients can expect with different treatments, how identify symptoms that need treating and how to prevent spine injury and conditions.
"There is tremendous opportunity for us to disseminate good information online," says Dr. Shamie. "Most people who don't use the Internet think it's just an advertisement tool and shy away from it, but we can use it to educate the public and our patients. I have been interviewed about disease prevention and other topics the lay person would be interested in, and what better person than a spine surgeon to talk about these issues."
There are several opportunities for spine surgeons to generate exposure for their practices with the online space.
"The internet is a very important strategy for public education and awareness about any topic you wish to present," says Ara Deukmedjian, MD, founder and medical director at Deuk Spine Institute in Melbourne, Fla. "It's available to your audience 24/7. I am concerned that in the future the internet will become 'cluttered' with the enormous number of sites competing for relatively little space in the 'spotlight' and a new platform will evolve. For a new practice the internet is a very good way to get quick exposure."
A large percentage of adults have reported searching online for information about their symptoms or medical condition. People are looking for more information about healthcare and surgeons can make sure they are getting the right information.
"There is definitely a thirst for good information and the internet has for the most part been able to satisfy that," says Dr. Shamie. "However there is very little oversight on what can be published on the internet. Much of the information is not backed scientifically and is hearsay. We need to direct our patients to reputable and peer reviewed websites like orthoinfo.org which is informative but also reviewed by a reputable society of surgeons"
6. Online reputation management. Whether you have a website or not, you do have an online presence through profiles on sites such as "HealthGrades" and "RateMDs" that allow patients to see your credentials and leave comments about their experiences with you.
"Even if you don't believe in advertising or educating your patients on the internet, you need to be aware of this medium because you don't know what others are thinking or blogging about you," says Dr. Shamie. "It's a good way to learn about what others think of you and your practice. Use this information to be self-reflective and to improve your practice."
Unfortunately, most people who take the time to comment online are people who have had bad experiences or are disgruntled individuals. Surgeons must devise a plan to respond to these negative online postings.
"Address comments that are not true," says Dr. Shamie. "If we don't get involved in how these sites are run and refereed, others will make that decision for us. I think it's important to first understand this environment and then be involved, and then when the time comes to take respond to false statements, we can lead the effort to improve this environment."
7. Introduce a suggestion box. Patient feedback is crucial for surgeons, especially as insurance companies move toward a pay-for-performance business model. It will be crucial for spine surgeons to incorporate positive and negative feedback into their practice to improve the overall patient experience, and the internet could play a roll in information gathering.
"Instead of having patients sound off on a website, which isn't under your control, you can direct them to the suggestion box on your website," says Dr. Shamie. "This is how it was done traditionally — with a paper and pencil suggestion box. Some doctors still have suggestion boxes in their offices but most doctors don't have them on their websites."
Sometimes patients are disgruntled because they feel like nobody cares about them, but if you ask them how you could do better, you can resolve the issue within your office and they won't have to sound-off all over the internet.
More Articles on Spine Surgeons:
6 Trends for Successful Spine Practice Models of the Future
5 Steps to Jumpstart Your Spine Practice Online Video Marketing
5 Benefits of Selecting a Private Spine Surgery Practice
1. Introducing yourself to the public. Even when patients are referred by their primary care physicians, they are searching for their surgeons online to learn more about them and decide whether they want to take the referring physician's advice or seek another specialist.
"It's becoming more and more important for all physicians, especially spine surgeons, to have an online presence," says Douglas Won, MD, director and founder of Minimally Invasive SpineCARE in Irving, Texas. "Patients are becoming much savvier and they want more details about the surgeons they are visiting. It's important to have this information easily accessible to them, and the internet is a great way to do that."While surgeons may not want to think about their online presence as a marketing effort, patients want to view that information on their own time and may decide to look elsewhere if they can't find it.
"Spine is a competitive market and you can utilize this tool to expand your practice," says Dr. Won. "Optimize your website so patients can easily find you, even if they aren't looking for a specific surgeon. So, if they search 'back pain' or 'neck surgeon' in your area, you want to be one of the first links that pops up."
2. Online word-of-mouth potential. Physicians traditionally depend on word-of-mouth to grow their practice and patient base, but increasingly those referrals are turning digital and have the potential to reach a much larger audience than just one or two friends of family members.
"In this industry, your reputation and what patients think of you will carry its weight decades into your career," says A. N. Shamie of UCLA Spine Surgery "The best way to establish yourself is through word of mouth, and that's important. Patients can now share their positive (and negative) experiences and recommend you to a whole new online community."
You can update your website to include positive patient feedback or highlight your strengths, but be careful to stay within legal boundaries.
"You have to be careful when you are putting information on the internet," says Dr. Won. "Make sure you are HIPAA compliant. It's not a bad idea for attorneys to review content before publishing it online. If you claim something on your website and patients don't feel they've received that experience, you could have trouble."3. Give patients control over their experience. Patients want more control over their healthcare and medical appointments; this starts with their ability to schedule an appointment and interact with you on their time.
"You can give patients the power to make their own appointment online," says Dr. Won. "They can go on the website and make an appointment instead of talking to your operator during business hours. We have a patient portal on our website where patients can schedule the appointment when it's convenient for them. I think that's a good function that will enhance the surgeon's practice."
Once the patient has created a profile on the patient portal to schedule an appointment, they will also have access to their medical records. Furthermore, they can email the practice with questions and provide feedback when they have time.
"We are making the process more efficient for patients and providing them the ability and power to control their own destiny," says Dr. Won. "They are going to have a lot more ownership of their healthcare and experience. It makes them feel more comfortable with their care."
4. Target the right audience. Unlike with traditional marketing efforts, online analytics allows companies to target a distinct demographic to optimize their advertising. New tools are now available to tailor web pages so they show up online when people search certain topics or have a history of visiting related websites.
"Surgeons can use the world wide web to gain access and get in front of an audience who is searching for a specialist from the comfort of their home anywhere in the world," says Dr. Shamie. "There is a tremendous opportunity to specify where your practice or your individual information appears in search engines."
Surgeons can use different tools to ensure their website appears when someone in their area searches for back pain specialists, or other key issues. "It's not just distributed to everyone like a magazine ad," says Dr. Shamie. "Current technology allows you to specify a target audience, and when and where you appear in the search engines. This is a powerful tool that most industries are currently using. As doctors, we are behind other industries in utilizing these helpful tools; there is still a common belief among most physicians that good doctors don't need to advertise. This statement is mostly true, but you also don't want to lose out on the opportunities that modern technology is offering you."
5. Provide patient education. Surgeons have the opportunity to provide patient education articles and videos online to benefit their patients as well as people around the world. They can create single articles, daily blogs or informational videos about what patients can expect with different treatments, how identify symptoms that need treating and how to prevent spine injury and conditions.
"There is tremendous opportunity for us to disseminate good information online," says Dr. Shamie. "Most people who don't use the Internet think it's just an advertisement tool and shy away from it, but we can use it to educate the public and our patients. I have been interviewed about disease prevention and other topics the lay person would be interested in, and what better person than a spine surgeon to talk about these issues."
There are several opportunities for spine surgeons to generate exposure for their practices with the online space.
"The internet is a very important strategy for public education and awareness about any topic you wish to present," says Ara Deukmedjian, MD, founder and medical director at Deuk Spine Institute in Melbourne, Fla. "It's available to your audience 24/7. I am concerned that in the future the internet will become 'cluttered' with the enormous number of sites competing for relatively little space in the 'spotlight' and a new platform will evolve. For a new practice the internet is a very good way to get quick exposure."A large percentage of adults have reported searching online for information about their symptoms or medical condition. People are looking for more information about healthcare and surgeons can make sure they are getting the right information.
"There is definitely a thirst for good information and the internet has for the most part been able to satisfy that," says Dr. Shamie. "However there is very little oversight on what can be published on the internet. Much of the information is not backed scientifically and is hearsay. We need to direct our patients to reputable and peer reviewed websites like orthoinfo.org which is informative but also reviewed by a reputable society of surgeons"
6. Online reputation management. Whether you have a website or not, you do have an online presence through profiles on sites such as "HealthGrades" and "RateMDs" that allow patients to see your credentials and leave comments about their experiences with you.
"Even if you don't believe in advertising or educating your patients on the internet, you need to be aware of this medium because you don't know what others are thinking or blogging about you," says Dr. Shamie. "It's a good way to learn about what others think of you and your practice. Use this information to be self-reflective and to improve your practice."
Unfortunately, most people who take the time to comment online are people who have had bad experiences or are disgruntled individuals. Surgeons must devise a plan to respond to these negative online postings.
"Address comments that are not true," says Dr. Shamie. "If we don't get involved in how these sites are run and refereed, others will make that decision for us. I think it's important to first understand this environment and then be involved, and then when the time comes to take respond to false statements, we can lead the effort to improve this environment."
7. Introduce a suggestion box. Patient feedback is crucial for surgeons, especially as insurance companies move toward a pay-for-performance business model. It will be crucial for spine surgeons to incorporate positive and negative feedback into their practice to improve the overall patient experience, and the internet could play a roll in information gathering.
"Instead of having patients sound off on a website, which isn't under your control, you can direct them to the suggestion box on your website," says Dr. Shamie. "This is how it was done traditionally — with a paper and pencil suggestion box. Some doctors still have suggestion boxes in their offices but most doctors don't have them on their websites."
Sometimes patients are disgruntled because they feel like nobody cares about them, but if you ask them how you could do better, you can resolve the issue within your office and they won't have to sound-off all over the internet.
More Articles on Spine Surgeons:
6 Trends for Successful Spine Practice Models of the Future
5 Steps to Jumpstart Your Spine Practice Online Video Marketing
5 Benefits of Selecting a Private Spine Surgery Practice