A misconception among many nurse practitioners, physician associates and other clinicians is that we take care of EVERYONE within our area of expertise.  Yes…but. Do you really do a good job with everyone? Do all of your clients and patients really connect with you and you with them? Are you really able to help each and every one of them?  I thought so.

While we might care for “everyone”, the truth is there are certain patients that we do better with. We seem to be able to speak to them and they actually hear us…and we hear them. These are the folks we do our best work with.

How great would it be to have a practice full of these folks…your ideal patients? In truth, it’s hard to see that happening, however, you can increase the likelihood that new patients coming to see you will fit the profile of your “ideal patient”.

In order to do this, one of the first things you need to do is to identify just who is “ideal” for you? Here are just a few of the questions you may want to ask yourself:

• What do you know about them? Who are they? How old are they? Where to they live? Do they have families? What kind of problems and concerns do they have? How do they like to solve their problems?
• Where do they hang out? What are they looking for in a health care provider? What kind of assistance would they need? Where and how to they like to access care? What’s important to them?

The answer to these questions will help you identify who your ideal patient is, the messages you want to create for them (so they can HEAR you through all the marketing noise), and deliver it to them where they will SEE it.

While it would be nirvana to have a practice full of ideal patients, chances are you may still run into folks where the two of you don’t connect well or work well together. That’s part of the work we do. But how much nicer would it be if that was not your entire day.

Take the time to identify your ideal patients and then adjust your marketing practices. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how your practice will change.

Millions of people (and thousands of health care professionals)  saw this Superbowl video ad and were moved – deeply.  I know it… affected me, and everyone I’ve spoken to about it. (No, I did not watch the game). I suggest that all of us take another look, this time for the marketing lessons within. What do you see and how can that apply to your business or practice? Leave your comments below.

Most health care providers who have a clinical practice, or any type of business where they rely on clients, will need to market in order to sustain and grow that practice and business.  While knowing how to market is essential, it’s also just as valuable to know what you should not be doing when you are marketing. It goes without saying that that most common problem is just not marketing, but today let’s focus on the 5 of the most common marketing blunders I see health care providers make.

  1. Religion and Politics: It’s often been said that religion and politics don’t mix with anything. I tend to agree.  While we can all acknowledge that a persons faith does play a part in health, in most cases you are better off leaving these topics out of our marketing.  When is it appropriate? If your business is specific to a certain group based on religion/faith, and these are the specific folks you are offering your services to, then feel free. Just be aware, that you’ll potentially lose patients that have other feelings.

 2. Omitting Contact Information: Believe it or not, health care providers have created brochures – beautiful brochures –  for their practice and omitted contact information from their marketing. Always check and double check all of your marketing materials to ensure you have the proper contact information clearly displayed.

3. About you!  Health care consumers want to know about you, their health care provider. Anymore they don’t want to come into your office without knowing something about you first. Make sure you have a page on your website that tells something about you the health care provider as well as something about the practice itself (ie, health beliefs, mission, value statement, etc).

4. Drowning in brochures. When you call on another office or business to leave some of your marketing materials, be mindful of how much you are leaving behind. The office may not need/want that many and may be too shy to ask. Their patient population may not be ideal patients for your own practice. There can be any number of reasons. Be sensitive to their needs as well as your own.

5. Automation. Many practices utilize an auto attendant to answer their phone. While I understand the benefits of this for the practice (I love automation), it is also a very cold way to greet your patients at best, and at worse, can be seen as uncaring and downright hostile. The same goes with patients being place on terminal hold as if their time is not important. So while automation is important and often necessary for some practices, take care to minimize its use.

The one thing that is not listed here, but permeates this short list is poor customer service. For any practice, this is one of the most important marketing concepts to keep in mind. Poor customer service will definitely get people talking about your practice, but not in a good light. So if you do nothing else for the year, remember that excellent customer service, along with excellent clinical care will get people talking about you, raving about you and your practice. And when it comes down to it, that’s the most powerful marketing of all.

Do you have marketing blunders to share? Feel free to share with us.

© 2012 Barbara C. Phillips, NP

Nurse Practitioners and other  Clinicians can no longer continue business as usual.

Our patients (clients, customers) deserve and expect much more. Gone are the days when a white coat gives one cart blanche to treat patients and staff indifferently behind the ruse of being busy. There is no doubt that you are busy. But just as you want respect from your patients, they are now expecting it from you as well.  Addressing one of the most common concerns patients make about provider offices will go a long way.

You are no doubt familiar with this complaint: “Every time I go to that office, I have to wait for hours!” I trust patients waiting in your office, wait for a much shorter time. There is much we can do to reduce wait times, but waiting is a reality for both patients and providers. It’s a fact of life that emergencies and other situations can and do happen.

So what can we do to minimize the impact of waiting? Well, it turns out there is much that can be done.

1. First – stop calling it a “Waiting Room” and rename it a reception area or something similar. Waiting Room implies that I will be waiting, no matter what. Changing the name can help reduce that perception and soften the idea that there will be a short delay before seeing the provider.
2. Make your patients comfortable. Patients have been invited into your office to see you. Think of this as your work “living room”. Make sure the reception area is comfortable for your guest. Take a seat…are the chairs comfortable? What about the room temperature? Too warm? Too cool?
3. When we are waiting (and idle) time can seem to drag on and on. However, when we are distracted or better yet engaged, time flies. Do you have a variety of reading material that is up to date? And while you are at it, is the lighting appropriate for reading? I’m not a fan of TV’s in reception areas, but perhaps you may want to consider a TV or video screen that is playing something engaging and appropriate (maybe even educational)?
4. Comfort Station. If possible, it’s nice to have a restroom available to those who are waiting as well as water or other appropriate beverages depending on your office situation.
5. Children. It can be quite irritating to a non-parent (or parent!) to listen to a child who is bored and tired. If you see children, or the family members of young children, consider having appropriate items that may keep their hands and minds engaged.

Most important, if you have patients waiting to see you, make sure they are keep up to date on any delays. Consider offering them the option to reschedule. Respect your patients and their time. It will go a long way in making them happy, satisfied patients.

What changes can you make in your reception area today?

As a professional, you are very aware of the need to protect your personal and professional information. But how much thought have you given to your digital identity? Are you even aware of the far reaching consequences that miss or stolen digital identity can have?

The following is a true story that was recently shared with me. Imagine that an old friend looks to see if you are on Twitter. They find you, and they see your picture. However, they are perplexed because your tweets are very much out of character, and indeed quite inappropriate for a professional. In truth, it’s not your account. It’s your name and your picture, but it’s not you. Now imagine if you will, that the person searching for you is a potential employer, business partner, post grad school acceptance committee or a disgruntled patients lawyer.  Ahh…big problem!

It’s not always a matter of deliberate stolen identification, but mis-identification is far more common. Do you know, for example, how many Barbara Phillips’ are out there? I share my name with other NPs, physicians, real estate agents and more. Chances are it’s not much different for you. This is why it’s so important for you to claim and then protect your digital identity.

Here are five steps you can take now:

1.  Search. Log on to Google (your favorite browser) and search for yourself.  What do find? How many people have your name? Do they have accounts of Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?
2. Create a Google profile. Include a professional picture and some professional information. There is no need to share personal information.
3. Purchase you name as a domain name. For example I have www.barbaracphillips.com. If you can put up a website or blog, or even just a one page with a snapshot of you as a professional. If that seems too difficult at this point, get the name anyway and just hold on to it. Domain names @ www.1and1.com or www.godaddy.com run less than $10.00 per yr.
4. Claim your name and create profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook. There are literally dozens of other SM sites, and you may want to create a presence there as well, but at least do the big 4.
5. Create a Google Alert for your name.  You will be notified every time goggle finds your name mentioned on the internet. You can set it up to be notified daily, weekly or monthly.

While this can seem to be a lot of work, and may even be overwhelming, it’s really important that you take the time and begin to work on this step by step. Doing so will help protect you digital identify and your digital reputation.

(c) Barbara C Phillips, NP, 2011

Health care practices are not generally known for their customer service. In fact, more often than not, they are known for its lack thereof. We all know that patients talk about our practices. If that talk is good…it’s great for marketing. However, if it’s not good…it can do a great deal of damage to your practice. There are lots of ways to encourage good reviews and favorable referrals to your practice. One of the best ways to get patients talking positively about your Nurse Practitioner business is with excellent customer service.

Picture this: You go into your provider’s office. You don’t feel well and you hope that you can just get in and get out before you have to pick up your kids from school. You are a bit grumpy by the time you walk in the door…parking was horrible and now you see the waiting room is full and there are crying kids. The receptionist does not seem to know you are supposed to be there even though you spoke with her two hours ago. When she tells you (without even looking at you) the NP is running behind, you turn around to see the only available chair is next to a screaming 2 yr old, who obviously feels as bad as you do. So begins your wait.

Without going further into this scenario, I’m sure you can already see several issues that should be corrected immediately. As time drags on, this is one patient who will be less happy with her visit to you today, and aside from telling her friends about her horrible experience, she just may find a new provider.

So what can you do to help insure that your patients receive excellent customer/patient care?

• Make your patients feel welcome. If you have anything other than a walk in clinic, your patients should be expected. Make them feel so with a warm welcome.
• Drop the “waiting room” and refer to it as your reception area or another appropriate term.
• Keep your patients updated on any wait times. Offer them the opportunity to reschedule if necessary.
• Consider making your reception area more comfortable. What’s the temperature like? Is it clean? Is there water available? What about tea and coffee? In keeping up with the times, consider making Wi-Fi available. Avoid loud TV’s that are tuned into game shows. If you must have the TV going, tune it to appropriate viewing.
• Encourage an office culture that treats each patient as if this was the most important person they will see that day. Listen to them.
Of course there is so much more you can do both in the front and back office of your practice, but this is a good start to making changes in your office. Your patient’s want to be comfortable in your office. They want to like you and your staff.

Consider this question: “How can I delight you today?” I was asked that question once by a customer service rep. It stopped me in my tracks and made me a loyal customer. I’d love to see you do that in your practice.

Remember: Excellent customer service + Happy Patients = Excellent Marketing ROI.

(c) 2011 Barbara C Phillips, NP

Should nurse practitioners communicate with their patients via social networking sites? This is a questions I am frequently asked. It’s been a topic of conversation on email list, social networking sites and at NP conferences. While I have written about it before (link to Advance article), I think it’s time to revisit this question.

My answer is simply no.

Here’s the deal. Communicating with your patients on a social networking site opens you up to potential for HIPAA violations. Additionally there is the possibility that patients may ask emergent questions which you may not see, or answer in a timely manner. And any communication online is subject to discovery should there be any legal incidents.

So how do I recommend that you communicate with your patients online? I think one of the simplest ways is for a nurse practitioner or the practice to have a Facebook page that is simple for businesses. The page is used to make practice wide announcements, do some patient education and remind patients to come in for things like flu vaccines or sports physicals.

It’s highly advisable to have a disclaimer on the site letting patients know that if they have questions they must contact the office directly as the FB page is not monitored regularly. You may even want to consider disabling comments on your page .

Make it an office policy that you and your staff will follow. Communicate this to patients. Let them know they can “Like” your page in order to get up to the date information and education from your practice, but it’s in their best interest to keep communication to the traditional lines…at least for now.

I love social media as a marketing tool, but I don’t feel it’s a smart communication tool. As far as I know, there has not yet been case law regarding communication via social networks. But as we all know it’s only a matter of time.

Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants and other clinicians who have been following me know that I am always saying you need to have an online presence along with your offline presence.  Your website, at the very least should at least be one page with information about your practice.

I often recommend the WordPress (WP) platform for websites. It’s affordable (WPis free), versatile (can be used as a blog or a static website or both), and has plenty of free or low cost themes available. And WP is simple to install as those of you who attended our wordpress webinar can attest to.

Hostgator, my hosting company is offering a promotion this Monday to knock a whole 50% of the cost of hosting. Unfortunately, its for new customers only, otherwise I’d be taking advantage of this! (I’ve been with them for several years now).  If you’d like to lock in your hosting at only 50% of the usual cost, you’ll need to take advantage of this on Monday November 29th – that is the only day you’ll be able to take advantage of this special.  Click the Hostgator links on this post and use the coupon code ” CYBERMONDAY2010 in order to get the special. You can lock in your special price for up to three years.

Once you’ve done that, go back and watch the NPBO Members WordPress  webinar to install your site. If you run into problems, let me know.

I was thrilled to participate in an interview with host Mimi Secor, MS, MEd, FNP, FAANP @ ReachMD XM Radio.  Click over, log on and listen to the interview.

Millions of people worldwide have Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. What do you need to know about today’s Internet-savvy e-Patient, who uses online tools to share information with their medical providers, search for medical information, and manage and cope with their medical conditions. Nurse practitioner Barbara Phillips, founder and CEO of NP Choice, LLC, joins host Mimi Secor to discuss how to connect effectively connect with your patients, and how to set up online policies and online identities.

Barbara C Phillips, NP on ReachMD

Hi, everyone.  It’s Barbara Phillips with another NPBO Video Minute.  And to day my question comes from Deb in North Carolina.  And she says, “We’re a 3 year-old primary care practice in a very saturated area.”  Meaning there are a lot of physician practices around her, and she’s still only seeing 5 to 8 patients per day.  She wants to know what kind of advice we might have for her.

So, the first thing that I would suggest is start asking questions of those 5 to 8 patients that are coming in per day.  Why are they coming in to see you versus someone else?  What are they getting out of it?  The next thing you want to do is know what are the needs in your community that are not being met.  And that may be anything from a product, a service, the hours that you’re open, the fact that nobody else is listening to patients.  So, what is it that they need and they want; then how can you provide it better and differently than anybody else.  That’s what you want to market to.

Of course when you’re doing your marketing there’s all kinds of ways that you can market, and it doesn’t mean you just put an ad in the newspaper.  You’ll find a lot of tips and techniques on marketing on our blog at www.npbusiness.org and also in our newsletter Progress Notes.  So, if you’re not a subscriber, you’ll want to get on that list now.

If you have any other questions, if any of you have any questions, that you want us to address in NPBO Video Minutes you can leave me a comment below, and I’ll make sure that we get them and get those questions answered for you.

The other thing too is if you have any suggestions for Deb in North Carolina, you can comment on this video as well.  So, we’ll see you next time for another NPBO Video Minute.