An alternative way to book an appointment

My dad sees a urologist in NJ. This urologist, who happens to be a good friend of mine from medical school, is in one of these mega-urology groups--30-40 urologists. My mom says that she is never able to get through by phone without at least 10 minutes of hold time. No doubt that this is a sign of a thriving practice--or really bad phones--but it is somewhat of a pain for patients, new and follow-up alike. I'm sure this group already employes these techniques, but here are some things I do to give patients access to schedule appointments without tying up phone lines.

• Fax an appointment request
• Email the practice administrator that you wish to make an appointment and that you are an established patient of the group.
• Voicemail--just make sure you check. I have not yet employed voice mail.
• Text-message--I had one patient contact me this way. In general, I am not very good at the MMS lingo, but I got him in the door. "OMG, I g hsv. n2cu." Translation: Oh my God, I have herpes. I need to see you.

The moral of the story is that the phone is but one avenue to reach the scheduler in the office. Personally, I think fax is the best. We check the fax on our free time and contact the patient when our phones are not ringing off the hook.

Thanks,

The IU.

Another reason to answer the phone: word of mouth

I answer my phones after hours. Other doctors say I'm nuts to do this and tell me that one should never give out personal cell phone, home numbers, etc, to patients because the patients will abuse it.
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
I have been doing exactly that for 15 months and not one patient has ever abused it. What has happened is that word of mouth regarding my availability to speak on the phone and my reach-ability has spread like wild fire and my practice has grown. Patients and their families consistently say things like, "I've never seen any other doctor be so reachable." And then they volunteer, "I'm going to refer you to my friends."
Music to my ears!
Maybe one day I'll get tired of it, but I doubt it because it really is no big deal, patients like it, and not only does it cost nothing, it makes me money. Placing less barriers between you and your patients, while counter intuitive, is actually better for everybody; patients, referring docs, and you.
Thanks,
The IU.

ps: the above picture was taken by me at Robert Moses State Park, about 15 miles from Smithtown.

More on answering the phone after-hours.

I know I risk sounding like a broken record, but it seems that 2-3 times a week I am rewarded just for answering the phone. Here are 2 of the latests successes:

• Last night a woman called at 7:45 PM to enquire about getting her husband an appointment for a vasectomy. The call was forwarded to my vonage line at home, which I anwered while trying to put my girls to bed, and booked the patient.
• A patient was given the numbers of 2 urologists for a vasectomy, me and another, established urologist. The patient called the established urologist first, but they did not answer the phone. He then called me, we answered, and I did the vasectomy yesterday. Not only that, he had such a good experience in my office, he let me know that he would tell others to come to me.

Answer the phones. It is really that important.

The IU.

Need new patients? Put your money where the mouth is.

When it comes to marketing and marketing dollars, there seems to be no limit to the possibilities or the costs. Professional marketers will tell you that marketing "should" cost you nothing. By this, they mean that if done correctly, 1 marketing dollar should yield 3-5 in return.

Oh that it is was that easy!

After 14 months on my own, I have come to the conclusion that only one type of marketing works for physicians, with the exception of plastic and LASIK surgeons.

Word of mouth.

W.O.M.

Word of mouth is, and has always been, the best form of marketing for any business, but for doctors it is perhaps the only form of effective marketing. Far from a passive endeavor, word of mouth marketing is an active and continuous process. WOM, I have come to realize, is the most active form of marketing and while it may cost the least in terms of money, it costs the most in terms of effort and time.

There actually is a science behind word of mouth marketing and methods exist that allow marketers to enhance and maximize the effectiveness of the program and to track, scientifically, results.

So there you have it. Put your money where the mouth is!

The IU.

Need new patients? Write a book.

I always wondered how colleagues of mine were able to publish books on such seemingly boring topics in medicine. I know of an oncologist out here, in the stix, who has published several books. Just talk to him for a minute and he'll tell you about his books, and he'll give you a copy. Now I know how he did it.
The other day I received a letter from a publisher asking me if I wanted to author a book on male infertility. Actually, the publisher was not given my name and it was not a personal invitation, but a form letter from a mailing list. In any case, I have always wanted to write a book, so I emailed the publisher. He responded immediately and wrote that he would send to me a "packet" in the mail. It came today.
Here is how it works. I sign a contract and then professional writers, with my help, write the the book. My total time commitment would be 15 to 20 hours. All costs for layout, artwork, distribution, etc would be paid by the publishers. And I get royalties. Sounds great! What is the catch?
I have to purchase 1000 books. List price, $14.95 per book. I don't know what the discounted rate would be, probably $10.00 per book.
So there you have it. For $10,000 you too can be an author of a book.
Now the better question: why would I do that? Actually, it is not a bad idea, and the price tag may be reasonable. Being an author of a book, any book, is seen by patients and colleagues as a major accomplishment and helps in the "branding" of you and your medical practice. It helps in "word-of-mouth" marketing--the best type of marketing. It makes you be a true expert. Also, giving out copies to patients can be an effective form of marketing as well.
I'll think about, plug the numbers into Bayes Theorem, and decide.
Thanks,
The IU.

Need new patients? Go to talks.

I have written posts on the positive aspect of giving talks to groups of people, but there is an even easier way. Simply go to a talk. Choose a talk on a topic in which you have interest and t one that will be given by a speaker you like, or know personally, or who can "pack'em in." Then simply go to the talk with a smile, some small talk, and some business cards. It makes for an easy way to get some face to face time with other doctors and nurse practitioners; any one who may be in a position to refer. It does not cost anything, though it does take time away from family. I do it 2-3 times per year and have picked up a few new patients as a result. Nothing spectacular, but "not nothin neither."

Hope I helped someone with this post.



The IU

Need new patients? Beat their expectations.

When you first go solo, obviously, you do not have an established practice to build upon. This takes time. However, whenever this happens, you can use your existing patients to build your reputation and, hence, your new patient business by providing stellar, beat-their-expectations-service. Here are some tips.

• Call back when you said you would


• Run on time


• Call when they don't expect you it


• Open "special" hours, just for them


• Book a referral, such as for a CT scan, for them


• If they are having a problem, squeeze them in today or tomorrow, no matter what


• Have copies of articles you authored and awards in the waiting room


• Keep a copy of of CME certificates in a nicely bound book in the waiting room

Good luck and enjoy the growth.

The IU.

Need new patients? Look to your existing patients.

You want new patients, right? So do I. New patient business means everything--growth, success, stability, the future. But don't ignore your existing patients for they are your best source of new patient business. All you need to do is to figure out how to harness the power of your existing patients to generate new patient business. Here are some things you can do and some things you must do.

• Keep your existing patients happy (A Must!)


• Mail fliers periodically with new procedures you wish to promote


• Send them business cards or magnets periodically


• Publish a news letter quarterly


• Ask them to "tell-a-friend"


• Direct patients to your blog and tell them to refer others to it.

Thanks.

The IU.

Need new patients? Get a website.

Let me just start out by saying that I think websites for doctors are highly over-rated. Just having one does not increase the likelihood that you'll attract patients. In order for this to happen, you must have a nice looking, informative website and you must try to get your website noticed using SEO--search engine optimization. Even then, the website is just another tool for prospective patients to find you with, not a money-maker in its own right.

Let's start first with the site itself. I believe your website should reflect you, and be unique, like you. I therefore, don't feel that standard template websites, like those available on GoDaddy or 1And1.com or the UrologyChannel.com are any good and any prospective patient that goes to one of those sites will see "business as usual" as their first impression. Almost anyone with any computer experience can design a great looking, unique site using 1 of these 3 programs: Dream Weaver, FrontPage or iWeb. I use iWeb for mine, host on .mac and have my domain name, http://www.drschoor.com/ point to the .mac site. Total cost $57 per year.

Now lets talk about SEO. This stands for search engine optimization. This is how your site will be found amongst the billions of sites already out there when people, for example, Google vasectomy. The easy way is to pay people to do it for you. This type of service can range from several thousand dollars to 10's of thousands of dollars. I finally caved in and began to use a service called http://www.vasectomy.com/ to direct potential vasectomy patients to my site, http://www.drschoor.com/. So far, it has worked quite well. Another way is to blog, provide good content on your blog, and link your blog to your site. If your blog content is good, people will notice it, and they will start to link to the blog and tell other about it as well. Thanks, Seaspray! All these incoming links will prop-up your blog, and ultimately your website, in the search engine rankings. There are other ways to do it--raise you site's ranking--such as adding meta-tags, and key words, and word density, etc, but I find that the best approach is with good content and a couple of good incoming links. And it is free. Since I started blogging in March 2006, I have added several thousand dollars to my bottom line.

The website can also be a good tool to educate your own patients plus prospective ones, and give patients an alternative method by which to contact you and make an appointment. Again, these types of services can range in complexity and cost but actually are quite simple. I have a blog on blogger and iWeb for my urology specific posts. Cost: zilch. I provide ample email links on my website and blogs for prospectives to reach me by, and I give my phone number and fax, as well. I have had a handful of new patients request appointments via this method.

The moral of this post. DO NOT SPEND BIG BUCKS ON YOUR SITE. One, it ain't worth it. Two, it is unnecessary. Three, it is more fun to DIY.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

The IU.

Need new patients? Donn the bow tie.

One day I just got bored wearing the same old thing day-in/day-out. But I do believe in professional dress and showing patients respect with, among other things, the clothing you wear. So one day, I went to Brooks Brothers, bought a bow tie and got a lesson on how to tie it. After 1 week and 10 unsuccessful attempts, I began wearing bow ties.
The response was actually unbelievable. Somebody commented on the bow tie each and every day for 1 solid year. Patients who I saw in the hospital would call my office to request to be seen and would say, "I can't recall his name, but I want to see the young doctor in the bow tie."
Though I did not do it as a marketing gimmick, it turned out to be one of the best marketing tools I have ever used.
Yes I still wear a bow tie. Yes I hand tie it. Wouldn't do it any other way.
Donn the bow tie.
The IU.

Need new patients? Go with a post-it.

You know what a post-it is right? You know; those ubiquitous yellow pads that everyone uses to jot down what ever needs jotting.
I had some made with my practice name, logo, and phone number printed on them. Cost me $40 for 20 pads, each with 50 sheets, and I gave them out to doctors’ offices whose business I was courting.
No fan-fare; just dropped’em off with a business card, a Babka, and a thank you.
The goal: keep me in mind.
Does it work? Sure.

The pharma reps do this type of stuff, and they have companies that pay millions to marketing firms that tell them to leave behind post-it notes and pens.

Cheap and easy.

Thanks,

The IU.

Need new patients? Be available.

I have a friend in start-up. He is chiropractor and he works banker’s hours. He takes Thursdays off and seldom works on weekends. He feels he “should” get to work what ever hours he wants and patients can wait; even if they are in pain. I wonder what the founder of 7-Eleven would think of this approach to convenience and availability.

In my view, he has not grown as fast as he could or “should” have.

Now contrast that to STAT Health, a start-up urgent care center in Smithtown NY. They have been open for as long as my friend has. They are open from 8AM to 8PM, 7 days per week. It is owned by 2 guys, and they are always—I mean always—there. And they are mobbed.

I know comparing a chiropractor to an urgent care center is probably not a fair comparison, but the point stands. Be available.

Everybody is busy. Everybody has a job. Everybody has family. Everybody has prior obligations. If you want to grow, be the one who accommodates. If your patient base commutes into the city, have early morning or evening hours or weekend hours. If your patient base is retirees, have mid-day hours. Nothing wrong with working on Saturdays if that is what it takes. My Dad saw patients every Saturday for 30 years in his dental practice. It never bothered me. In fact, I admired it. Your family will understand also.

If you want to grow, be available when others will not be.

Thanks.

The IU.

Need new patients? Hit the pavement.

Nothing works quite so well or has as much bang for the buck as dropping by a referring source's office and saying hello. Rather than being on annoyance, it is seen as a sign of respect. It is actually quite easy, not very time consuming, and aside for gas and perhaps some donuts, costs nothing. In my experience, one in ten visits results in immediate new patient referrals. Whenever things slow down, the first thing I do is start to visit my referring doctors.

Caveat: Never demand to see the doctor. I typically will bring coffee for the staff and say" don't bother Dr Smith, just enjoy the coffee and give him my card." Never be pushy.

Easy. Effective. Inexpensive.

The IU.