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BUSINESS ADVISOR
• fillable forms for pre-op information and registration as well as
patient satisfaction surveys (which ideally should automatically
transfer to your in-house information systems);
• an online bill-pay option for co-pays and balances; and
• a feature that lets patients enter their addresses and get mapped
directions to the facility.
If you want to go above and beyond, invest in an online chat feature
through which patients can ask questions and receive responses —
which can reduce phone calls. Adding a blog to your site needn't be
fancy; it can simply provide a place for announcing news and events,
posting articles by physicians, and providing educational materials.
What's more, these efforts will make your site more web-search
friendly, so the content you want patients and others to see shows up
higher in the search results.
Reach out and tweet someone
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, 24% of consumers use
social media to post health experiences or updates. By developing a
social media presence through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter,
you can encourage patients to share (hopefully positive) comments.
And if you see negative comments? You can, by and large, proactively address them with good customer service that will leave the patient
feeling positive. You can also post news and helpful bits of information — mini-blogs, if you will.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2013
