Healthcare mobile technology integration on the rise Written by web_developers on August 4, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Healthcare mobile technology integration on the rise With the indoctrination of big data, and a change in the way we use it, mobile technology in hospitals and practices is becoming increasingly necessary and easier to incorporate into practical use. According to a new report, nearly everyone from pharmaceutical reps, to nurses, to emergency room techs, and surgeons integrates mobile technology into their daily routines. And in ways different from how they were using it last year. “Mobile Device Usage Patterns Among Physicians” explains how, based on a survey, physicians are using mobile device to help them stay organized and informed. Seventy-five percent of doctors in the 31-40 age bracket answered that they used mobile devices either every day or a few days a week. Forty-six percent of physicians ages 61 and older say that they use mobile devices at least a few days a week. One thing was for certain. Physicians are using mobile technology on a daily basis. How could they not? It’s hard to avoid when receiving e-mails, marketing and sales material, and patient data so frequently and packaged in different digital methods. Today, mobile technology is a must. To learn more about how MDnetSolutions’ mobile technology offerings and application building can help your practice, call 888-986-3638 or visit our website.
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.
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].
Why should you have a custom Facebook page? Written by web_developers on February 13, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Why should you have a custom Facebook page? By now I’m sure just about everyone is aware of the fact that it’s a good idea for your small (or large) business to be on Facebook. It’s a great vehicle for brand expansion that will give you both a larger net presence and a new channel to interact with clients, other businesses and anyone else who might stumble across your Facebook page. However, after a while just about every business’ Facebook fan page starts to look the same. So, how do you create a Facebook experience that will stick with your users? A custom landing page is a great way to give your brand’s Facebook page a personality beyond the standard wall, info and photo tabs. It can be as simple as an eye-catching graphic with a clear call-to-action, or as complex as a multi-page mini store. Now that Facebook allows page administrators to implement custom pages using iframes, instead of their proprietary FBML application, just about anything can be added to your landing page to enhance a user’s experience with your brand on Facebook. Check out a couple examples that will help get your thought process rolling: The Threadless Facebook page is a great example of adding a new layer of interactivity. Users are given the opportunity to ‘Like’ and comment on individual designs as well as browse new additions to the Threadless catalog, which works very well in the social context of Facebook. Taco Bell also does a great job of offering exclusive content and a more interactive experience on their custom Facebook pages. Through providing access to non fast food related content they are able to connect with a demographic who might not otherwise consider checking out the Taco Bell facebook page. Another interesting use of Facebook comes from Motorola. They take the interactivity a step further by offering customer support through Facebook. Not only does this offer customers the chance to connect more directly with Motorola, but it also allows users to connect to each other and create a community around Motorola. Finally, check out what we did with the Elevated Third facebook page. A Facebook landing page isn’t a replacement for a full-featured, search engine optimized website, but it is a great opportunity to reach a new audience through a powerful and extremely popular medium. If you’re going to put the effort into creating a unique landing page for your brand, be sure to leverage the social plugins Facebook provides to help you drive traffic there. With a variety of plugins, ranging from the simple Like Button to integrated comments and registration, there are plenty of ways to integrate your main website and Facebook landing page to be sure your brand gets the exposure it deserves.
Why you need an optimized mobile website Written by web_developers on January 26, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Why you need an optimized mobile website Do you really need a mobile website? The short answer to that is Yes. Most of your patients have a mobile phone, right? If you want to control how your brand appears there, then you need an optimized mobile version of your website. Let MDnetSolutions design a mobile website for you that is easy for prospective patients to find, view and use. We can customize your site to allow visitors to sign up for a seminar, make an appointment, or get directions to your location quickly and easily. And with set-up prices starting as low as $249, there’s no reason not to Go Mobile! With a mobile website from MDnetSolutions, your patients will see you. Now. Learn more about our affordable mobile websites by contacting Carol O’Dell at [email protected] or 888.986.3638. To visit the MDnetSolutions mobile website, scan the QR Code below. Need a scanner for your smart phone? Download a free scanner app to your mobile device by going to either iPhone app or Android app. If you’re viewing this from your mobile, click here to check out our mobile website!
Do you know the benefits of having a mobile website? Written by web_developers on January 21, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Do you know the benefits of having a mobile website? People are searching on their mobile phones more and more nowadays. In fact, in some countries such as Japan, there are more searches done on a mobile phone than on a computer. So what does this mean for your business? Well, if your company does not have a mobile ready website, then chances are you are not being seen when your customer base is looking for you. Many regular websites will translate to be seen on smart phones, however they can often times be more difficult to navigate than a mobile ready website and there is only so much zooming in and out that a user is willing to do. Some websites don’t translate at all. Meanwhile, mobile ready websites are streamlined and work perfectly on a user’s phone. Typically people searching with their mobile phones have a higher intent to buy, so why would you want to place any obstacle in their way that would keep them, from buying from you? Many times mobile searches are done while the user is out of his or her home and away from a computer. There is a chance that if they cannot access your website, they will check it out later when they are home, however there are many things that can hinder that. For instance, your competitor may have had a mobile ready website and earned their business, or they simply forgot by the time they got home. Another new benefit to mobile ready websites is that Google is now sending out Googlebot to specifically crawl through mobile sites to help determine their rankings. This is great because a huge percentage of your traffic comes from Google, so you definitely want to be well loved by them. Having a mobile website means that you can engage with your customers where they are looking for you and it means that you will find favor with the search engines. How can you deny your business this boost? Need more information on mobile websites? We’ve got the answers! Contact MDNetSolutions today to get all the details. Source
QR Codes and Mobile Websites, a Match Made in Heaven! Written by web_developers on January 13, 2012. Posted in Connect. No Comments on QR Codes and Mobile Websites, a Match Made in Heaven! Happy 2012 to Everyone! We’re starting the New Year off with the perfect idea of combining two of the latest technological advances and how you can make them work for your practice. Throughout the year we’ll be sharing other great ideas on ways to make your practice grow, so stay tuned! It seems like everyone has a website and certainly everyone has a cell phone, but not that many practices have a mobile website and we’re wondering why that is. Have you ever tried to navigate your website on your cell phone? If your website is not optimized for a mobile device, you’re probably looking at itsby-bitsy type and struggling to figure out how to make sense of it all. Once your website is optimized for a mobile device, there’s a way to drive people there that’s quick and easy – the QR code! Having a QR code that scans to your mobile website is a terrific idea on many fronts! Your visitors can sign up for a seminar, access the seminar location via a quick click to a map and even make an appointment, all in an easy-to-read mobile format. Or they can call you with a simple push of a button. Want to provide access to a procedure video they can watch from their mobile phone? No problem! Have an idea for shotgun marketing? QR codes are great for that flyer at your seminar, water bottle or t-shirt – put a QR code on it so people can quickly point and shoot. So give it a try and scan our happy QR code above! We can build your mobile website for you and get your QR codes set up pronto! In fact, call 888.986.3638 and mention this email and get 20% off of our $249 one-time set up fee! From there, it’s simply $59 a month to host your mobile website and QR code. And for a limited time, if you scan our happy QR code above, you’ll receive a 50% discount off of the set up fee! If you don’t have a QR code scanner and you have an iPhone or Android, you can download a free scanner app to your mobile device by going to either iPhone app or Android app. Already viewing this from your mobile phone? Click here to go to our mobile website. The simple QR code and your mobile website – a match made in Heaven! Want to learn more about how MDnetSolutions can help your practice grow? Contact Carol O’Dell at [email protected] or 888.986.3638.
Practice Marketing Essentials for 2011 Written by web_developers on January 3, 2011. Posted in Connect. No Comments on Practice Marketing Essentials for 2011 Difficult economic conditions and changes in insurance laws have made strong marketing efforts an increasingly high priority for many medical practices. While most physicians are well aware of this fact, determining what measures to take and how to take them can be difficult. The following are a few suggestions to help your medical practice make the most of its marketing budget in the coming year. Have a Plan in Mind As the old adage goes, “those who fail to plan plan to fail.” Make sure you have a specific plan of action to be enacted throughout the course of the year. Changes may be necessary as time goes on and new information is gathered, yet it is better to have a clear direction and to make adjustments as needed. Remember the Many Forms of Promotion Advertisements—print, online and other media ads—are a powerful tool in spreading your practice’s message, but keep in mind that there are many other ways to catch the eyes of potential patients. Articles, press releases, blogging and search engine optimization are among the methods capable of boosting your reputation. Know Your Unique Strengths There is probably something that your practice does better than its competitors. Perhaps you serve an area that others do not, or maybe you offer a relatively new procedure. Whatever your competitive edge is, incorporate it into your market research. For example, if your treatment is shown to be especially helpful to patients with diabetes, you may wish to learn about the consumer behaviors of the diabetics in your community. Keep the Lines of Communication Open Make sure you take advantage of opportunities to communicate with potential patients with whom you’ve made contact as well as your current patient population. Direct mail and email messages can be used to welcome patients, remind them of upcoming appointments or even wishing them well on their birthdays. These may seem like small gestures, but research has shown that efforts by healthcare providers to communicate with patients are significantly effective. To find out more about Marketing Essentials for a better 2011, contact MDnetSolutions today.