Ophthalmic Publishing Leader BMC Features Article By Eye Surgeon Jeffrey Martin, MD In Advanced Ocular Care
Smithtown, New York (PRWEB) July 16, 2015 -- As the medical industry evaluates how to best serve the health care needs of Generation Y (Millennials, Echo Boomers), medical publishing leader Bryn Mawr Communications (BMC) looked to Long Island eye surgeon, Jeffrey Martin, MD to publish an article in their Advanced Ocular Care journal on marketing medical services to the age 25-50 demographic. Dr. Martin serves as chief surgeon and medical director for North Shore Eye Care.
“The group of young men and women who make up the Generation Y segment of today’s population are responsible for $200 billion in spending power and will soon be dominating the work force and outspending their Baby Boomer parents,” said Dr. Martin. “As physicians who are responsible for their primary and secondary refractive surgical eye care, it is important that we understand their buying habits, lifestyles and healthcare knowledge in general.”
BMC Communications in a leader in healthcare communications and publishes numerous journals within ophthalmology. These include: Advanced Ocular Care, Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today as well as video-based journals like Eye Wire Today, Eye Tube TV.
“It’s an honor to be asked to write medical articles for healthcare publishing giants like BMC Communications,” said Dr. Martin. “I have a passion for sharing my training, experience and knowledge with my refractive colleagues and BMC Communications is the perfect distribution partner for allowing me to be timely information to my fellow ophthalmologists.”
In his article titled “Attracting Millennials To Your Refractive Surgery Center” and published in the April 2015 issue of Advanced Ocular Care, Dr. Martin goes on to point out that delivering health care information via local media channels is substantially different than it was for patients just a few years ago. “North Shore Eye Care has been shifting its resources from television, radio and print media partners to social media and the internet,” he said. Data from the Pew Research Center demonstrates that Millennials are less likely than older Americans to watch TV or read a newspaper. They are much more likely to tweet, post videos online and frequent social networking sites.
For cosmetic medical procedures like LASIK, Dr. Martin pointed out that educating and attracting Millennial patients requires an up-to-date website, appealing graphics, short videos and must be mobile friendly so that patients can get the information they seek on their smart phones. “A recent article in US News & World Report about how hotels are engaging with Millennials highlighted some of the characteristics that appeal to this generation,” he said. These include: communication via text and social media; collaborative and communal space with an open, streamlined design; virtual check-in and check-out; and a unique or personalized experience. We have used similar approaches to enhance our appeal to Millennial patients.
“A big advantage in talking to Millennials about refractive surgery is that they inherently trust technology,” he said. “I find that, compared with older patients, they are less fearful and much less concerned that the high-tech instruments we employ will not work. They come in with a pretty solid baseline of information—gathered online, of course—but it is still important to share with them the latest statistics on visual acuity and satisfaction with LASIK. Better yet, share your own personal results in patients with refractive corrections similar to their own.”
Dr. Martin said the Millennial patient will want to know which platform you use and why. “Don’t sell me, just tell me,” is their attitude. “I tell them, for example, that our iFS iLASIK system (Abbott Medical Optics) produces the best bladeless flaps possible. I share the excellent safety profile of the lasers we use, and explain how customized, wavefront-guided LASIK will take the equivalent of a fingerprint of their visual system, digitally transfer the information to the laser, and automatically track features in their iris.”
To a generation raised on choice and customization, this is an aspect of the technology that Dr. Martin feels really resonates with them. “Using a video on my iPad (Apple), I walk them through each step of the procedure.”
Dr. Martin said that no one has marketing to Millennials totally figured out, in part because this generation is still growing up and evolving. But Millennials are certainly the future of refractive surgery, he pointed out, adding that continuing to find ways to adapt and appeal to this generation will be well worth the effort.
North Shore Eye Care is Long Island’s most established full-service comprehensive eye care provider. This year they are celebrating 52 years of eye care excellence since Dr. Sidney Martin founded the practice in 1962. North Shore Eye Care is also the official Eye Care Provider for the New York Islanders and the official LASIK Providers of the New York Mets. Many of their doctors have been voted 'Top Doctors' in the New York Metro Area by Castle Connolly and North Shore Eye Care has earned ‘Best Of Long Island’ honors for the past few years.
North Shore Eye Care maintains offices in Smithtown, Riverhead, Holbrook, Deer Park, Southampton, Southold, Garden City and Hempstead. They specialize in cataract care, LASIK laser vision correction, glaucoma management, diabetic eye disease, ophthalmic plastic surgery, pediatric ophthalmology, and retinal care. For more information about North Shore Eye Care, please contact Jacqueline Hernandez at 631-265-8780.
Jacqueline Hernandez, North Shore Eye Care, http://www.nseye.com, 631-265-8780 Ext: 139, [email protected]
Share this article