COVID-19 pandemic patients need outreach. Healthcare providers, you’re on the front lines.
During times of any healthcare crisis, it’s more than important than ever to be available to your patients. To clarify, this doesn’t mean making yourself personally available to answer hundreds of calls to your office immediately. However, it does imply a willingness to communicate with your patients.
Outreach for COVID-19 pandemic patients
First, take advantage of remote options when it comes to patient outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. As an example, your blogging strategy. Beyond that, your presence on social media. Likewise, regularly review your patient portals. In this case, email blasts or other forms of contact are an option.
To summarize, your ability and willingness to communicate with your patients goes a long way toward promoting your services and your expertise on any number of questions your patients might have about this pandemic.
That is to say, healthcare providers – independent practitioners to large practices, need to stay in touch with patients. Similarly, so too do independent PAs and home health care providers. Above all, we must share, provide advice and guidance, as well as support patients.
In short, use your online technology options.
COVID-19 pandemic, outreach, and the human ‘touch’
During patient care crisis scenarios, medical professionals are often overwhelmed. We understand that you’re struggling to balance time spent with ‘regular’ patients and new ones showing up needing care. However, even though a patient may not need to see you in person doesn’t mean that you can’t communicate with them.
In the same vein, I’ll be blunt. If you’re too busy to devise and maintain a blogging strategy or a posting schedule for social media, hire a freelancer! Your patients need information, advice, and guidance, especially in times of crisis.
Over 40% of docs say they don’t have enough time to write and create content. First, that’s a valid excuse. Incidentally, so too is the difficulty in coming up with fresh topics that are not only timely, but informative.
As a result, regularly posting to your blog can boost your exposure and promote your practice by 55%! In other words, your marketing endeavors and strategies play a huge roll in traffic, increased visibility, disseminating important information regarding your services, and of course, new clients/patients.
To summarize, use communication to calm fears and keep patients informed, which will naturally increase loyalty, revenue and revenue cycle management practices.
Maintain connections with your patients
Above all, realize that your patients appreciate hearing from you, whether it’s through email, a blog post, a Tweet, or other outreach. In the same vein, your patients might not need you right now, but they still appreciate knowing that you’re thinking of them and their health concerns.
In particular, online experiences, ratings, and accessibility to physicians are key factors in choosing a healthcare professional these days.
Therefore, your marketing efforts should not just be about SEO and inbound or outbound links. It’s about connections. It’s about making sure your patients have relevant and reliable information. It’s about making your patients feel that they matter, no matter what the scenario.
In conclusion, your ability to communicate with your patients during any crisis is essential. For more information on how a blogging strategy or other online outreach tips can help not only your patients, but improve your medical practice, contact me. I’ll be here.