Who is Googling You?

A few interesting facts for healthcare providers to think about to start their Happy New Year in 2019:

• 80% of all Internet users (93 million Americans) search the web for health-related topics.
  • 63% search for a specific disease or medical problem.
  • 47% search for a particular medical treatment or procedure.
  • 21% search for a particular doctor or hospital.

A study by Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that "looking for health or medical information is one of the most popular activities online" according to Susannah Fox, Pew's director of research.

With better than half the country searching conditions and treatments, and one in five looking for a specific doctor, what percentage do you think are searching for you by name? What percentage of those searching are likely to be your existing patients?

The answer to both questions is more than 50%, and probably much closer to 70%.

Think about it. As soon as a patient receives your name as a referral, more than 80% of the time they look up your name in Google. You're up on a smartphone before they even leave the office.

And think about how often your existing patients Google your name when they want to make an appointment? It's not as if they have your office number committed to memory. They Google your name the same way you search the name of your favorite restaurant when you want to make a reservation.

Without your own personal website, one that YOU control, your patient is at the mercy of whatever comes up in search results.

Healthgrades. Vitals. WebMD. U.S. News & World Report. The list goes on and it's long.

What's on those websites?

Competing providers. Competing hospitals. Ads.

Misinformation. Distractions. You are losing your existing patients and your referrals.

Retain your patients. Retain your referrals.

A personal website is your professional online identity. Educate your patients as you decide on the diseases you treat and procedures you perform. Accept appointments online, send calls directly to your front desk or scheduling center. Provide access to your EHR Patient Portal.

Stop patients from getting lost when they're trying to find you.

Build a PROVIDER-Site in Less Than 5 Minutes AND Connect Using Your Doximity® Profile.

PROVIDER-Sites retains patients and reduces lost referrals resulting in more appointments. The process of creating one is as simple as it gets! If you're a Doximity member, Dr. Leonardo will instantly access biographical information, including your photo!  Weekly Analytic Reports are sent via email charting the PROVIDER-Sites’ traffic and appointments.