Choosing a company to help grow your bariatric practice Written by web_developers on July 26, 2012. Posted in Bariatric Surgery. No Comments on Choosing a company to help grow your bariatric practice By combining our bariatric-savvy team, tools, and online marketing services, we help you increase your reach and improve patient relationships, all the while practicing proper compliance and saving you time. Information Tracking Rely on us for patient acquisition and conversion. Our proprietary LeadTracker® software helps you manage new patients from initial contact to patient intake, and beyond. Using LeadTracker®, bariatric practices from all over our country have experienced up to a 30% increases in leads, seminar attendance, consultations, and conversions. Website Design We recognize that a practice’s website is a crucial medium to help build trust and exposure. Our custom websites allow for a seamless patient intake process. By integrating patient-friendly forms, insurance verification, and tracking, bariatric practices get the hard work out of the way before the seminar even starts. Our experienced web designers craft clean, brand-rich designs that guide patients easily through practices’ websites and deliver information painlessly. Web Visibility Today, bariatric patients are flocking to the web to research bariatric programs. With our time-tested search engine optimization and social media strategies, we foster your online presence and help your practice gain traction for relevant, local keywords that will drive qualified traffic to your website. Patient Outreach and Follow-up Our online seminars allow patients to experience a convenient, yet effective, start to your bariatric program. Online seminars help lower your costs and create time for your staff to focus on building patient relationships. Our U.S.-based call center handles all of your phone intake, initial education, initial insurance verification, follow-ups, and reminders with rapid response times. You’ve got questions, and we’ve got the answers. Contact us to learn more about growing your practice. Visit MDnetSolutions.com or call 1-888-986-3638.
Is your practice mobile-friendly? It needs to be! Written by web_developers on July 6, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Is your practice mobile-friendly? It needs to be! The technology start-up industry is seeing an uptick in entrepreneurs who want to help younger generations’ consumers use technology to solve their health care needs. In a recent post, technology news publication GigaOM says that as new consumers are becoming of age to pay for health care, they are using new and improved methods to acquire information, and it’s mostly mobile. It says that Generation Y (also known as The Millennials, and, most recently, Generation C for “Content”), which makes up about a quarter of the current U.S. population, is also responsible for 33% of tablet ownership and 39% of smart phone ownership in America. Due, in large part, to these figures, many new technology start-up companies are catering to their needs — digitally, including new digital communities for sharing and socializing, better ways to connect patients and providers, and new-found health data providers. As if you needed another reason to establish a mobile website, smart phone-makers and software companies have been putting extra work into improving mobile web browsing software. Most recently, Google made its popular internet browser, Chrome, available in free mobile form, which is sure to attract its loyal desktop following. This is a major wake-up call to health care providers everywhere that a new type of consumer is emerging, and he or she is going to be looking online for information about your practice — or someone else’s. So it’s time for your practice to present itself with a professional, effective mobile website. Start your venture in staying ahead of the trend today. Call MDnetSolutions at 770-882-2900 to find out about the mobile solutions we offer for health care providers and get in the game.
How can health care providers use Twitter for outreach? Written by web_developers on July 3, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on How can health care providers use Twitter for outreach? We’ve always thought that one of Twitter’s many exciting attributes is its search function. Twitter recently put together an extremely insightful video regarding a computer program they wrote and used to collect and aggregate health care-related information from tweets, allowing us to know more about what the public is saying (or Tweeting) in regards to health care. Based on their video, Twitter says that they were able to see about 1.5 million tweets regarding public health, diseases, remedies, and conditions. This information, they think, may be used in the future to predict trends and address a wide range of health care issues. The same goes for health care providers. The information that providers could learn from people locally Tweeting about their health may be invaluable. Imagine, for example, a specialist in bariatric surgery using Twitter effectively. By searching Twitter for terms such as “weight loss” or “weight gain” in their area, they could reach out to folks who may benefit from their services and be able to provide a solution. Consider this with current patients as well. If someone were Tweeting about symptoms after surgery or successes or failures following surgery, office staff may be able to respond much easier than calling or e-mailing, and in a manor that’s comfortable to the patient. By using Twitter for outreach purposes, offices can connect with patients and address their needs in a timely, manageable, modern fashion. The possibilities for health care providers’ use with Twitter is endless. Let MDnetSolutions show you how Twitter can help your business.
Electronic Medical Records to be used in 2012 Olympic Games Written by web_developers on June 1, 2012. Posted in Manage. No Comments on Electronic Medical Records to be used in 2012 Olympic Games Medical records for more than 700 United States Olympians will be managed electronically for the first time ever at this year’s London Olympic Games. This is in great contrast to how the U.S. Olympic Committee historically shipped electronic medical records in paper form on pallets around the world to where the athletes and doctors were at the time. Aside from being costly, paper medical records are much less efficient and provide a greater risk of destruction than EMRs. The implementation of EMRs at the Olympic Games will mean a world of difference for the athletes and participating physicians. EMRs will enable quicker response time of treatment, a better understanding of an athlete’s medical history and performance, and easier management of individual treatment for members of a team. Included in the collection of EMRs is an additional 3,000 records of images and other vital documents, including X-ray and ultrasound. Tracking medical information electronically also enables health care providers to track and analyze data for further treatment. With real, reportable information, providers can analyze what treatments were more effective and custom-build programs for each individual athlete. The success of EMRs isn’t exclusive to athletes. MDnetSolutions’ first-class patient management system allows healthcare providers to track and analyze patients’ health data from lead capture to treatment follow-up and beyond. We take the guess work out of tracking data entry and help save you time. To learn more about how you can integrate Electronic Medical Records in your practice today, visit our website or call us at 888-986-3638.
Patients are not happy with hospital care, says new poll Written by web_developers on May 25, 2012. Posted in Manage. No Comments on Patients are not happy with hospital care, says new poll In a recent study, NPR found that people who have been hospitalized recently considered their care to be very costly and not up to quality standards. “Sick In America,” as NPR is calling it, exposes the numbers behind patients’ recent experiences and their feedback, and the results have some hospitals double-thinking their care. Overwhelmingly, patients found communication and time spent with patients to be the biggest areas hospitals lack in. Among 291 patients who had been seriously ill and hospitalized overnight at least one night in the last year: 34% said nurses were not available when they needed them or did not respond quickly to requests for assistance 30% said that there was poor communication among the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals involved in their care 24% said doctors, nurses and health care professionals did not communicate information about their condition or treatment clearly to them or a family member Also to be noted, 3 out of 5 patients today feel like their doctor is rushing through their exam. We understands health care providers’ challenges with time and resources, and our services fit in to create relief in your daily schedule. From lead capture and tracking, to U.S.-based call center support, and online marketing services, MDnetSolutions helps reduce patient dissatisfaction by allowing you to spend more time assessing your performance. Leaving the administrative work up to us will help you spend more time and efforts doing what you do best — serving your patients. To find out how we can help your practice by visiting our website or giving us a call at 888-986-3638.
Touch technology could soon tell you when it’s time to wash up Written by web_developers on May 23, 2012. Posted in Other. No Comments on Touch technology could soon tell you when it’s time to wash up Touch technology similar to that used on the iPad is being mimicked to monitor hand hygiene compliance and cut down on healthcare-associated infections, or HAIs. Safe Hands, the name of new hand sanitation-monitoring technology, is being developed by the same company that brought us talking urinal technology that warns against drunk driving. In this case, Healthquest Technologies Inc plans to create a system that measures the quality of provider cleanliness while tending to patients. The non-invasive system would monitor patient contamination in real time and would have the ability to detect the proximity of patient interaction and decide if sanitation is up to par. The hand hygiene monitoring system is not currently available for commercial use, but is in development and testing. Healthcare-associated infections are some of the most avoidable, most often overlooked infections. They are large risks for hospitals and have proven to be very costly to some organizations. According to the CDC, 1 out of every 20 hospitalized patients will contract an HAI. Awareness and prevention, much like with everything else, is key in making sure this doesn’t affect your practice. Mobile solutions for hospitals and health care organizations will continue to change the way we operate. This is only one indicator of how comprehensive and crucial incorporating technology into your practice can be. Let MDnetSolutions help you in your mobile technology integration, whether with custom mobile applications for the iPhone or iPad or other mobile web solutions. Give us a call at 888-986-3638 or visit our website.
How a medical call center can help your practice Written by web_developers on May 16, 2012. Posted in Manage. No Comments on How a medical call center can help your practice Patient intake. Scheduling appointments. Answering questions. Verifying insurance. Seminar and event registration. Patient outreach and recruitment. Patient followup. These can all be extremely time-consuming tasks for any medical office, especially for a small-to-medium-sized practice with only a few people making phone calls. That’s when a medical call center can be the perfect solution. Medical call centers are comprehensive resource-savers by allowing time to be spent elsewhere. MDnetSolutions’ medical call center does the heavy lifting for practices which need routine phone calls made to patients. Our patient care coordinators communicate with patients as a representative of your practice in a professional manner that is customized and feels personal to them. We also provide nurse triage service to them around the clock. Our medical call center also features: Call activity reporting Call recording Voice mail-to-email integration NurseLine with registered RN’s in all 50 states 100% HIPAA-compliant to ensure the privacy of your patients To learn more about how you can integrate our medical call center into your practice, call us at 888-986-3638.
4 ways patients use social media to chronicle their weight loss journey Written by web_developers on May 11, 2012. Posted in Other. No Comments on 4 ways patients use social media to chronicle their weight loss journey Surgical weight loss is a very impactful experience for patients. It is life-changing and represents conquering a very mighty beast that has lurked over them a very long time. It’s a paradigm shift. It’s a re-birth. And because of that, we often see that patients want to share it. Sharing such experiences can be the best form of therapy. Especially when they are health-related. Patients know that other people have gone through these experiences before, and may be able to lend a helping hand or offer some useful advice. It is a journey, after all. Patients aren’t shying away from social media when seeking this support. Through research, Sequence Health has found that patients most commonly use these four social media platforms when chronicling their weight loss surgery journey. 1. Blogging Blogs are a great way to publish frequently updated information on the web. Taking Lap Band Gal as an example, patients can turn a blog into an electronic journal of the challenges they’re facing, talk about things they’ve learned, review products, and share how their weight loss is progressing. Readers can subscribe to the blog — or bookmark it — to follow along with the patient’s journey and compare notes, or even ask questions in the comments. 2. Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media platforms today. Creating accounts on those platforms, and using those accounts to communicate, is a great way to reach a large audience. And, patients can integrate their blogs with a social media platform to talk to the audience they’ve already attracted. Unlike blogs, Facebook and Twitter are great for daily updates. So patients can use one (or both!) to talk about the day’s weigh-in, what they ate, or ask a question, and it will be easily and widely seen. 3. Message boards Message boards are all about community and reciprocation. With message boards, patients can choose a topic and read a conversation or contribute to one. Obesity Help has a great message board for bariatric patients to participate in. 4. Video blogs (or “vlogs”) With popular video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, independent video publishing has become a breeze, and bariatric patients are increasingly using videos to chronicle their journey. It’s as easy as sitting down in front of a web cam or phone with video capabilities and recording yourself. Most phones have the ability to post the video directly to YouTube without any editing or file conversion. Banded Wendy is a hugely popular vlogger. “So, what does that have to do with my practice?” you may be wondering. The key for practices is to be involved with patients during their journey. As bariatric surgeons know best, the effort doesn’t stop when the patient leave the operating table. It’s a continuous, lifetime-spanning change. You can be a part of that journey and easily communicate with the patient through the use of social media. To find out how Sequence Health can help you use social media, visit our website or call 8889863638.
Healthcare Tweet Chats Allow You Talk About Your Specialty Written by web_developers on May 10, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Healthcare Tweet Chats Allow You Talk About Your Specialty A great example of what a healthcare tweet chat looks like. Communication is of upmost importance to the healthcare industry. Not only is communicating with patients and colleagues significant, but also with peers in your specialty. Recently, tweet chats have emerged as a great venue to communicate with other providers within — or people generally interested in — your discipline. Tweet chats are discussions hosted through Twitter based on tweets that include hashtags, or keywords with a“#” in front of them. Placing a “#” in front of keywords allows them to be clicked on, or searched, and associated with other tweets that have that same hashtag or discuss the same thing. For example, if I’m tweeting about a new medical procedure and I want other providers who may be looking for the same information – or other people talking about that new procedure — to see my tweet, I may use the hashtag #medicalprocedure. (Just remember when adding a hashtag that you’re only allowed 140 characters!) Healthcare tweet chat topics span a wide range of specialties. From end of life care (#EOLchat), to healthcare education (#MedEd), care giving (#charechat), breast cancer (#BCSM), weight loss surgery (#wls), and postpartum depression (#PPDchat). What makes healthcare tweet chats great is that it allows for a community to come together and, at their leisure, engage in conversation about a topic important to them. Not only are tweet chats great for sharing information, but also to get the word out about your practice or your specialty. Participating in a tweet chat allows you to spread your wealth of knowledge and link to your website or promote your services in a controlled, targeted environment. View this simple healthcare tweet chat calendar to find a tweet chat for your practice to participate in. Make sure you visit our website to read more about the best ways to use Twitter as a healthcare provider, and the social media services we offer to practices, including Twitter. Or give us a call at 888-986-3638.
More patients are using social media to find health care provider information Written by web_developers on May 7, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on More patients are using social media to find health care provider information If you think your patients aren’t using social media to search and share healthcare information online — think again. A study released by PwC Health Industries entitled “Social Media ‘likes’ Healthcare,” states that “33% of consumers in the U.S. use social media channels to find health-related information.” And with ever-increasing ease of accessibility through mobile applications and other platforms, that number will continue to rise. While most patients’ social media interaction involves searching and discussing symptoms, many users search social media sites to find out more information on hospitals and health care providers — either organizations they’re already aware of, or new ones. Because of their tendencies to shop around online first and seek others’ opinions and shared information, 57% of consumers said a hospital’s social media engagement affects their decision to seek treatment at that facility. So what does that mean for hospitals and doctors today? Historically, healthcare organizations have been late to climb on board the social media train. So, these newly published statistics should act as more motivation for health care providers to start their social media campaigns today. If you think about it in terms of the ability to reach as many patients as possible, there are currently 900 million users on Facebook and another 10.4 million on Pinterest. Those are great platforms to disperse information about your hospital or practice. It’s time to put your best foot forward out on the social landscape. By establishing a social media presence and publishing information, you are taking hold of a great opportunity to engage with people searching for information and potentially drive traffic to your website where they can attend seminars and schedule visits. The PwC study also acknowledges: “Health organizations have an opportunity to use social media as a way to better listen, participate in discussions, and engage with consumers in ways that extend their interaction beyond a clinical encounter.” Some social media sites that may be beneficial to hospitals are Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, FourSquare, and YouTube. With these sites, you have the opportunity to answer general, non-personal questions, post news or relevant information to your patients, and provide them with some health care tidbits. To find out how MDnetSolutions can help you with your social media strategy, contact us. Call us at 888-986-3638 or e-mail [email protected].