The Ideal Doctor Revealed: What Patients Want Most Before You Say Hello

How the Voice of the Customer translates into greater case acceptance and referrals. Some interesting study data came to our attention recently. It's useful in understanding patient expectations and increasing case acceptance by way of the "Voice of the Customer" (VOC). It's especially helpful when economic times are challenging for both the patient and the hospital, healthcare […]

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All-Time Top 10 Questions: What Patients, Referring Physicians and Payors Want to Know Most

In our work with clients across the United States, we often help medical providers understand what their primary constituencies need and want. A starting point for a provider group for instance, would be an exercise in discovering what patients, referring physicians and payors want to know. And when you recognize the questions of these groups—what […]

[SERIES WRAP] How to Profitably and Ethically Attract The Patients You Want

For the past few weeks we’ve had a lot of fun presenting our seven-part educational video series of successful marketing strategies for healthcare practices and hospitals. Lonnie Hirsch and I (Stewart Gandolf) decided to make these fast-paced and informative presentations available to our readers at no cost, but for a limited time only.

So you want more educated, upscale patients? Then act like it.

It shocks me how many doctors say they want "first class" patients, but then treat these same patients (paying customers) like second class citizens. The following cautionary tale illustrates my point well.

Live From the OR: Do Patients REALLY Want to Watch Open Heart Surgery?

For some time now, we have championed the benefits of video content as a powerful, and often underutilized, tool in healthcare marketing. No pun intended, but here are two cutting-edge video examples of surgery—direct and graphic from the OR. Viewer Discretion Advised. These video examples of actual surgery include graphic content. Online video broadcasts (and […]

Patients Want Online Appointment Scheduling, but Few Medical Providers Claim this Marketing Differentiation

Providing patients with online appointment scheduling appears to be growing in some healthcare sectors, but it’s not an option for most patients. People want it. They use online scheduling in other areas of their daily living. There are business advantages for the provider. BUT—online appointments are a convenience that not many providers offer to patients. […]

10 Ways to Attract New Patients from Key Local Employers

Help Providers Win New Patients from Large Local Businesses with These Tactics Large or dominant employers in your local communities are excellent targets of opportunity for new patients and cases. Most healthcare providers have local businesses that are (or could be) a source of new business. Whether it’s a company that's conveniently located across the […]

How to Deal With Angry Patients

10 Ways To Deal With Angry Patients and Why You Definitely Should By Stewart Gandolf, Chief Executive Officer When patients take their grievances out on their healthcare provider, it can be frustrating—not only for the provider but also for the administration. More than ever before, healthcare organizations have to worry about the threat of legal […]

How to Transform Your Hospital Website Into a Marketing Machine That Attracts Patients

How to Transform Your Hospital Website Into a Marketing Machine That Attracts Patients Occasionally we encounter a hospital website that was created on the mistaken belief that “if you build it, they will come,” to borrow a line from Field of Dreams. The marketing plan for attracting patients falls woefully short of expectations because “set-it-and-forget-it” isn't […]

Doctors: How to Market Your Practice to Win Both Patients and Admiration

Doctors: How to Market Your Practice to Win Both Patients and Admiration The business of marketing for a doctor’s practice has changed considerably in the past few years. In many ways, the process of finding and attracting new patients is more challenging than ever. Notwithstanding sweeping reforms in the healthcare system too numerous to list, some of […]

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How to Create an Effective COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Strategy for Your Patients

Learn how to craft an effective communication strategy for COVID-19 vaccines for patients in healthcare practices and medical organizations.

[Podcast] Bridging the Communication Gap Between Doctors and Patients

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Fasiha Haq, Global Medical Education Advisor at Eli Lilly and Company. This podcast is the fourth in a series of prep for our panel discussion at Eye for Pharma. Lynn Nye, CEO of Medical Minds, co-moderated this podcast with me in advance of our panel discussion at […]

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How to Craft Great Healthcare Content (People Actually Want to Read)

You know a lot about the healthcare specialty (or specialties) you work in—but that doesn’t always translate to good healthcare content on your website. Healthcare content includes the blogs, web pages, ebooks, infographics, and even videos on your website (or elsewhere on the web). People typically create healthcare content for several reasons: To increase visitors […]

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4 Ways to Build Trust with Patients Online

Trust is essential to any relationship. And it’s a key factor in maintaining relationships between doctors (and healthcare organizations) and patients. In person, building trust with patients depends on creating the best possible experience in the office and showing compassion. So how can hospitals, practices, and organizations maintain that level of trust in the digital […]

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4 Ways Your Online Presence Keeps Patients Away

You know you need a website to succeed in healthcare today. While some organizations rely heavily on word-of-mouth and doctor referrals, this won't last forever. Today's savvy patients are researching everything from dentists to radiologists to medical device manufacturers before they ever consider a product or service. Your website helps these patients find the right […]

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5 Medical Website Must-Haves to Win More Patients

The right mix of medical search engine optimization and digital advertising can bring more prospective patients to your site. But if your medical website is missing these key elements, your efforts may be wasted. Win more patients with our top 5 medical website design must-haves. Photos of People Feeling Their Best We find that a […]

10 Healthcare Website Design Tips that Deliver Patients

Today, most patients in need of a healthcare provider will begin their search online. Even if your organization is primarily physician referred, people are searching for your website before following through with an appointment. A poor web presence could be a deal breaker. Recently, we’ve written a lot about what kind of websites deliver patients. […]

5 Reasons Your Practice Is Losing Patients

It costs your hospital or practice about 5 times more to obtain a new patient than to keep an existing patient within your database. That’s why patient retention matters–the overall loss of a patient’s lifetime value is not something you want to give up. So if you’re losing patients, you might be...well...losing patience. The good […]

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How to Market to Medicare Advantage Plan Patients

Medicare influences most of the healthcare decisions of patients 65 and up. Unfortunately, original Medicare can have gaps in coverage that steer people away from making the right decisions for their health. That’s why millions of people choose a private Medicare Advantage plan as their 65th birthday approaches or during the Annual Election Period (also […]

Consumerism Marketing Strategy Wins More New Patients

[Series Installment] Nearly all health systems, hospitals, medical groups and professional practices have two fundamental considerations in common. And the professional groups that are becoming breakaway successful have leveraged the new consumerism marketing. The first is dynamic—one that virtually everyone struggles with—is the tough competitive landscape. The quiet days of old-school healthcare are gone. The fast-pace […]

When Patients Leave: Why They Fire the Doctor

Most doctors are well respected, even beloved, by the vast majority of patients. In the broad spectrum of patient-provider relationships, physicians have a positive head start. As the widely held and generally correct stereotype goes, skilled and experienced professionals in the healing arts are intelligent, well educated who do good for patients and the community […]

The State of Healthcare Marketing Research: Reaching and Winning New Patients

[Healthcare Success Industry Leadership Podcast] In this installment of our continuing educational series, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf talks with Rob Klein, founder and CEO of healthcare marketing research firm Klein & Partners. From large hospitals and medical group to individual practices, the marketing research step is a vital foundation to achieving campaign success and business […]

What Does a Palm Springs Vacation Rental Have to Do with Targeting Upscale Patients?

A lot, actually. As you might expect, many doctors and hospitals want to target upscale patients. Sometimes it is a matter of insurance coverage, other times doctors want to attract more fulfilling cases, and still other times clients simply want to improve reimbursements. Two weeks ago at our Orlando seminar, someone asked the familiar question […]

Winning More Patients: It’s Time To Be On-Time

Editor’s Note: In this guest post, Neil H. Baum, MD, presents doctor-to-doctor ideas founded in his 30-plus years of real-world experience as a practicing urologist in New Orleans. Want more patients? How about more patients without a big-budget investment? Can you attract more patients who won’t stress your staff? Want more patients who you can […]

When Patients Don’t Care About You…and What to Do Instead

There’s a trap waiting for you in the world of marketing. And the more capable you are as a doctor, the more likely you’ll spring it. Why patients don't care… You’re a talented, personable and board-certified surgeon with a beautiful office in a great location. You have an exceptional team of nurses and staff. You […]

How Millennial Patients Are Changing The Way You Do Business

Here's why you need a guide to Millennials. Not long ago, it was the Baby Boomers that dominated the healthcare demographic landscape—one of the top audience targets of opportunity. The post-war crowd still represents a substantial slice of the American population. But boomer-babies are no longer the largest cohort. Millennials (age 18-34) are now the […]

What If Patients Billed Doctors for Time Waiting to Be Seen?

While languishing in a medical practice reception area, more than a few patients have fantasized about financial revenge, thinking: “I should send a bill to this doctor for making me wait so long.” That’s not a fanciful idea. “In 2010, people in America spent 1.1 billion hours seeking health care for themselves or for loved […]

Patients Feel Healthcare Is Stuck in the Digital Dark Ages

Earlier this week a colleague was stuck in a medical office verbally providing health history details for a staff person to type into the practice computer. The desk was stacked with thick, unfiled charts that nearly filled the space between patient and office manager. Facetiously, someone (nameless) joked how the dawning age of Electronic Medical Records […]

What Doctors Can Learn From Unhappy Patients

Picture this scenario. You have an unhappy patient in your office, and, frankly, nobody on the staff (much less the doctor) is eager to jump into that thunderstorm. Let’s hope that this doesn’t come up too often, but realistically it happens even in the best of practices. You and your staff should be prepared to […]

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Hospital Selfies and Stars: Patients Look Deeper Than HCAHPS

There's a New Consumer in your service area. No longer “merely a patient,” healthcare reform and societal dynamics have empowered a new breed of high-expectation consumers and value-aware shoppers. Before they select a hospital or provider—for themselves or family members—they are increasingly informed about outcomes, reputation, safety scores, patient experience and the cost of care. […]

“I Want It Now!” Answering Society’s Instant Gratification Craving

You’re busy. I’m busy. So here’s the point: People have become so used to instant gratification that they expect everything now. Right now. You can either embrace society’s instamatic mindset or rapidly be swept to the bottom of the marketing and competitive lineup. Convenience is the new currency. Across the board in products, services and […]

If Patients Chose Doctors Based on How Creative They Are

Somewhere in the US—we wouldn’t disclose exactly where—there’s a large medical practice that has, until recently, been in a relationship with a local advertising agency. What’s troubling about this relationship is that, over many years, the agency never talked about results, data or Return-on-Investment. The medical practice likes the people they were working with, and […]

5 Innovative Hospital Marketing Ideas You Might Want to Steal

Well… we’re not advocating anything inappropriate here, but from time to time we bump into some clever hospital and healthcare marketing ideas that are worth sharing. One or more of the following engaging concepts could be an idea springboard or adapted for use by others. Comedy Show Benefits Children’s Hospital: A tip of the hat […]

Doctor Entrepreneur: What Patient-Customers Want Is Good Business

Doctors and patients have adopted new roles for themselves in the healthcare delivery system in the wake of healthcare reform. The “new normal” for patients includes a stronger and more proactive participation in personal health matters. More than ever, the role of the patient is that of an informed consumer. And as patient-centered care has become the […]

Google’s Local Search Has Changed How Patients Find Doctors

The playful adage is painfully true: The best place to hide a dead body is on page two of Google’s search results. Here’s why doctors need to be concerned about local search and their ability to attract new patients. The front door of your medical practice moved online some time ago. The “traditional” paths for […]

How to Convert Internet and Advertising Generated Inquiries Into Patients

As I was reviewing some advertising tracking data with a client recently, our client (a physician in a large medical group) observed how the “Internet shopper” category accounted for a high percentage of no-shows and cancellations. His first impression was that Internet shoppers are more fickle or impatient by nature. Could it be that the […]

Man-to-Man Marketing: Reaching Healthcare’s Most Reluctant Patients

It turns out that there’s a huge and nearly-untapped marketing opportunity among men: “men who, studies show, avoid doctors for virtually anything short of a bullet wound,” as The New York Times describes them. Hospitals in New York have been operating health centers in Midtown Manhattan that cater specifically to what just might be healthcare’s most reluctant—and […]

When Doctors Say They Want Marketing (But They Really Don’t)

OK…let’s be frank about this. If they had a magic wand to change their world, perhaps eight out of 10 doctors would rather not be concerned about marketing. Their inner being wants to devote all their professional time and attention to doing what they trained to do… being doctors, practicing medicine, and helping people. But, […]

A New Mindset: Partnering with Patients as Never Before. Patient Experience Summit Podcast

[2014 Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Podcasts] In our continuing series of leadership discussions, our guests today are Julie Moretz, Associate Vice Chancellor, Patient- and Family-Centered Care, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and Kathy Vermoch, Patient Experience Leader and Project Manager, UHC (formerly University HealthSystem Consortium). This upcoming Summit presentation is titled, Successfully Partnering with Patients and […]

Medical Grand Rounds: The Impact of Patients’ Perceptions of Care on Physicians [Podcast Series]

[2014 Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Speaker Series] In our continuing series of leadership interviews, Maureen Fagan, Executive Director of the Center for Patients and Families at Brigham and Women's Hospital previews her Empathy + Innovation Summit presentation. Her talk at the Patient Experience Summit is titled, Patient and Family Centered Care in Medical Grand Rounds: […]

First Principle of Enduring Success: Existing Patients First

Some fundamental business ideas deserve repeating: Successful marketing—and practice growth—begins with taking care of existing customers/patients first. Growth-minded healthcare organizations often assume that business development is exclusively a matter of bringing new people through the door. Previous or existing patients—customers who have already crossed your threshold—are taken for granted, mentally considered “a done deal,” or […]

The Incredibly Simple Reason Most Patients Don’t Make Referrals (and How to Fix That)

Somewhere in the recesses of their brains there’s a point of professional pride among doctors that tells them: “Being a good physician and providing excellent clinical care will carry the day for success in business.” Caring for the health concerns of people will please and benefit patients. And that satisfaction will bond them to the practice. […]

Concierge Care: Growing Appeal to Doctors and Patients

by Jessica Socheski Though many patients remain unaware of its existence, the field of concierge medicine continues to quietly expand throughout the US among primary care physicians. It’s not a business model for everyone (or every market area), but roughly 4,400 American doctors have switched to a form of cash-only medicine called direct primary care, […]

Fall Marketing Strategy: Financial Advantage Reminder for Patients

Here’s a timely reminder about an often-neglected marketing strategy for the year-end holiday season. And for budget-sensitive families, it can be a helpful financial advantage. Between now and the end of the calendar year, health services can be the most appropriate and affordable for individuals and families with tax-advantaged Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). What’s more, […]

Why Doctors Don’t Want to Be Doctors Any Longer

The usual challenges of physician recruitment, physician relations and physician marketing are all contending with an unhappy dynamic: Many doctors simply don’t want to be a doctor any longer. After investing ump-teen years in earning their much-prized white coat, it looks like many docs want to hang it up. They are either ready to get […]

Affordable Care: Your Prospective Patients Are Mighty Confused

When it comes to healthcare reform, a big chunk of the community that you serve—and audiences you want to reach with hospital and medical marketing—simply may not know what you’re talking about (or care). Our caution here is to deliver meaningful marketing and advertising messages to the right level of consumer awareness. Ongoing polls suggest […]

How MD Anderson Empowers Patients from the First Virtual Contact

[SHSMD13 Podcast Series] Awhile back, the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center recognized that it had a patient experience problem at their front door. Associate Vice President of Marketing Alicia Jansen explains it this way: “One of the things that we noticed early on was that the biggest sticking point that our patients had in interacting with […]

Wellness Mindset: Service Line Marketing to Keep Patients Out of the Hospital

[Podcast Series] Our interview guest today is Eula McKinney, Director of Ancillary Clinical Services Outreach Development at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. In this installment in our series about healthcare industry and marketing topics is hosted by Healthcare Success Co-Founder Lonnie Hirsch. “Vertical integration” is the healthcare industry term that includes assuring excellence in […]

Establish Boundaries With Difficult Patients Early, Before the Relationship Descends Into Crazy Town

Be forewarned, this is an “elephant in the room” post about dealing with difficult patients. It’s a common situation and a sensitive topic. And if you’re uncomfortable confronting the problem, or dealing with challenging, dependent, manipulative, noncompliant, upset and/or time-sucking patients…then read no further.

Will Twitter VINE Engage or Enrage Patients…in Six Seconds or Less?

Take a few seconds (actually, six seconds or less) to get acquainted with Twitter’s new video sharing app, VINE. This latest-and-greatest social media (SM) phenom is catching on among Twitter-ites. Vine--along with a new wave of image sharing apps--is new, but it may or may not belong in your healthcare social media toolbox. Clever new […]

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