CardioChoices.com provides cardiologists the medium to market directly to prospective patients on the internet. Your Mini-Site allows patients to make the decision as to what cardiologist they want to see.  We optimize your profile to be found during prospective patient internet searches.

Market Yourself to Patients

Physician marketing can consist of having an industry supported dinner to gain a referral from other doctors, or entertaining primary care physicians on your own to gain their referrals. With the emergence of the internet, it has now become a direct to consumer (DTC) effort.  The internet is the most cost effective method to advertise yourself.  Patients want to know more about doctors and they are researching on the internet.  Patients want to know who they are going to see, and what your credentials are.  If you are not marketed properly, you will lose that patient to someone that they know, or have learned about.  Do not rely on your hospital to do it for you.  They are serving their best interests, and physician marketing you may not be their priority. 

Patients’ medical concerns are changing and cardiologists need to change also.  The e-patients are researching their diseases and treatments on-line* (see below for the statistical analysis).  You have probably seen their computer printouts with additional questions for you.  If you don’t think they are researching cardiologists in the same manner, you are fooling yourself.  You need to market yourself where the patients are researching heart information.  Having a mini-Site on CardioChoices is an effective way to market yourself to your patient.  Patients come to CardioChoices to learn about heart health conditions and treatments and follow up with scheduling an appointment with you. ??????

Hospitals perform DTC marketing of their services to patients.  They are advertising on the internet, TV, newspaper, magazines, etc.  Hospitals want patients and don’t care how they arrive  They will highlight a special procedure or a high profile doctor.  If you are not one of those special physicians, then you don’t gain the support of their marketing efforts.  Doctor names can be found in the hospitals’ directory, when you are being searched.  Typical information provided is name and number.  CardioChoices gives the patient a reason to give you a call, and reduces your reliance on referrals from primary care physicians.

*74% of Americans are on-line and just over half (51%) have searched online for information about a medical treatment or procedure.  58% of internet users between 30-49 years old said they have performed a medical information type of search, up from 49% in 2002.  The same study showed that 8 out of 10 internet users have searched for information on at least 1 of 16 health topics. (E-Patients: How they can help us heal healthcare, Tom Ferguson, MD; 2007).

*53% say the information they found on-line led them to ask a doctor new questions, or to get a second opinion from another doctor.  38% say it affected a decision about whether to see a doctor.  (On-Line Health Search, Pew Internet Research; 2009)

Physician Marketing 101

Here are a few considerations when deciding how to distinguish yourself from other cardiologists.  Patients decide on which physician to see based on three referral sources- doctor referrals, family/friend referrals, and internet research.  What separates you from any other doctor?

• Have a website for yourself or your practice.  Separate yourself from the association of your hospital and their marketing efforts.  Stand on your strengths.

• Sign up for multiple medical practice related directories.  They sometimes have better internet visibility and are referenced by patients to compare their options.  The more times your name is in the face of potential patients, the better your chances are of gaining their business.

• Offer your local newspaper to write a weekly or monthly article.  This is good publicity and name recognition.  While newspaper circulation may be declining, they still attract a cardiologists demographic.  This can be considered part of your name branding AND stands to your credibility.

• Sponsor community activities.  This never really translates into immediate business, but it helps in branding your name within the community.  People remember your name when they need you. 

CardioChoices.com markets "you". View a sample Mini-Site to see what how we can build your patient referral base by utilizing the internet.