Is it enough to just have a website for a Doctor?

Doctors across the globe are busy individuals, even today most of the times a doctor is physically required rather than being required online. The more a doctor excels in his practice, chances are that he may not have the time to really get online and be digitally active at the same time. The value of each minute keeps on increasing as the practice grows.

So, while the doctor is busy physically (offline), how does he maximise the potential of the web? We all know that the numbers of internet users are only growing online. As on today there are nearly 346 Million internet users in India alone and by the time you will complete reading this article 200 more internet users have been added to this number. The percentages of internet penetration are even higher in developed countries. The number of people seeking online information about thedoctor and consulting doctors online are constantly increasing.

Word of mouth awareness and peer to peer referrals are big sources of lead generation for doctors but that’s not it, now a days the web platform is also becoming a major factor one cannot ignore.

So let us start by asking a basic question: Is having a website good enough?

Enlisting your name on reference web sites that will list your name, address and contact information is a good idea, but what about having your own web site? Here are a few benefits of having a web site for a practicing doctor irrespective of number of years into practice:

• It keeps your flag of online presence held high, even when you are busy offline;
• It keeps your visitors engaged with your content, even if you update your content once in few months;
• It informs your visitors about who you are and what you do, even when you are not attending  them;
• It give directional details and enables communication with patients; even while you are busy talking to other patients;
• It helps patients to conclude on a doctor.

Let’s ask another question which is even more important: Is it enough to just have a website for a doctor?

Let’s start by saying that just having a website for the sake of having one is like having a mobile phone that doesn’t connect or receive calls. These are the few questions that doctors can ask while building a new or managing an existing website:

Purpose:

As a doctor you must know the exact purpose of your web site, always ask the following questions before you develop your web site:

• Why is the web site important?
• Who will it actually serve?
• Where would it actually reach?
• Does the web site help you save time and effort in the long run?

Time Invested:

So how does one make a web site work for a busy doctor, how would a doctor harness the potential of the web completely while he doesn’t have the time to participate actively online?

The answer to the above question is simple “NO” it’s not enough to just have a website for doctor in today’s times. Today with the power of internet, patients are more informed than ever, the doctors need to connect with their patients online more frequently for which they need to communicate more frequently. The irony is that as the practice grows, available time shrinks. On the contrary based on our social media connections with 4000+ doctors on LinkedIn we have clearly seen a trend that many successful doctors in India are seen very active on various social media platforms. So how do they make it possible?

These are few pointers that may help you with the answers to both the above:

• Having a web sites is not at all a costly affair, one can have his web site up and running in less than 2 days and in as little as $80.
• There are specific tools and techniques developed specially for the doctors that help gain maximum digital momentum with minimum effort.
• There are tools available that enable a doctor to publish their knowledge at one location while distributing the same on the digital platform all in one go.
• There are options and approaches available that help a doctor to show that he cares for his patients, and not giving an impression of him being sales oriented.
• There are available techniques that help the patient pre-engage with the knowledge and experience of a doctor without asking much of his personal time and on a click of a button.
• There are specific companies that work only between patients and medical practitioner or health care service providers; they specialize in enhancing the doctor to patient engagement ratio.

Finally, let’s conclude by saying that it is imperative for every doctor to have his own website. The more professional and engaging your website is, the more advantages you can gain.

 - By Shahid Badshah

The writer of this article is an expert in enhancing doctor patient ratio, enhancing online presence and developing effective and pocket friendly website solutions for your practice. These web solutions are tailored to help a doctor to maximize the potential of the web with maximum reach and minimum effort. He is also the Co-Founder and Director of a web portal HealthyAlways.com that focuses on enhancing doctor’s online presence, reputation and patient engagement. To see our product video click here