Why Doctors Need a Website: Enhancing Online Presence in Healthcare
In a dynamic world where technology has leapt rapidly, people’s engagement is more online than face-to-face interaction. Most business sectors have adopted and matched their pace with technology, but the healthcare industry still largely operates offline.
Telemedicine is one aspect of healthcare that performs well online, but most people still visit doctor’s clinics for their health needs.
Doctors get new patients from their health network or through other doctors’ referrals.
But a new report suggests healthcare providers need to have a strong online presence.
Patient’s Preference for Online Doctors
It is seen that the initial step to searching for the right doctor happens online, even though patients meet their healthcare provider face-to-face.
In a survey comprising 1700 U.S. adults, around 80% resorted to the Internet for online healthcare searches in 2017.
The survey highlighted an interesting outcome, indicating that 63% of the respondents preferred one provider over another based on the doctor’s online reputation. This wasn’t just seen in the younger patients; it was also noticed in the older patients too.
The online reputation checks of doctors were often done by older patients, including younger patients.
The survey revealed that more than 75% of individuals aged 60 years and older used the internet for healthcare-related searches. Moreover, 90% of this demographic reported that negative online ratings would lead them to seek a new provider.
Facts further confirm that around 81% of patients read online doctor reviews even though they have referrals, indicating online reliance, confirms the CEO of Doctor.com, Andrei Zimiles.
Providing effective healthcare services needs to be the prime objective of medical practitioners, but at the same time, it is important for them to mark their online presence, as this is what patients are expecting nowadays.
Less than 15% of doctors have a website!
To effectively engage and retain patients, healthcare providers and doctors need to focus on creating compelling & informative website.
It’s the doctor’s reputation that patients check most, and to build trust, doctors need to work on the testimonials section of their websites. Highlighting patient testimonials and positive feedback ensures easy access for patients. It’s more convenient for the patients to read the reviews on a doctor’s website than to choose Google to review the doctor’s reputation.
The inclusion of certain features on the doctor’s website can play a key role in providing convenience to patients. Around 45% of the patients confirmed that they prefer to request appointments through digital methods. So, integrating websites with online appointment booking would add value to the doctor’s website and ease for patients.
Websites with an FAQ section rank higher on the Google search engine and help clarify common queries of the patients.
Adding a live chat feature to the doctor’s website can also enhance website credibility and ensure effective patient accessibility.
Conclusion
Health is a vital aspect that cannot be ignored, and the adoption of all novel means that enhance effective doctor-patient communication needs to be actively incorporated.
The online presence of doctors is important, and having a website is the best, fastest, and easiest means to connect to patients.
A doctor’s website plays a crucial role in helping patients screen doctor’s reputations and expertise online. For the success of the healthcare industry, digital engagement is essential.