Patients “Self-Refer” To Practices With Health Care Transparency Tools
NEW ORLEANS, LA (PRWEB) November 04, 2013 -- When consumers want a restaurant suggestion or a hotel recommendation, they often turn to the web. More than ever, patients do the same as they search for a doctor – and practices need to have a robust digital presence if they want to drive patient acquisition.
Jamie Cesaretti, MD of Orlando Physicians Specialists will co-present a case study with Jeff Cutler, executive vice president of Vitals, showing how group practices and hospitals can leverage online marketing tools to drive patient acquisition among the empowered consumer at 9:00 a.m., Nov. 6 at the 17th Annual Greystone Healthcare Internet Conference in New Orleans, LA.
Since October 2010, Dr. Cesaretti’s medical group has dramatically increased the number of onlines reviews from their patients by including direct links from their website to their doctors’ profiles on Vitals, as well as providing in-office marketing material asking patients to provide reviews on Vitals. In addition, the medical group used Vitals’ Patient Link program to enhance and promote doctors on the doctor search website. Vitals also provides a physician profile builder that Dr. Cesaretti’s group used to manage the reputation of each of their doctors – adding photos, information about their expertise, and responding to patient reviews.
By optimizing and localizing their online presence, the group has been able to convert online searches into patient visits. In fact, the Vitals Patient Link program has resulted in about 170 additional leads each month for the practice, which only has 37 doctors.
“Nowadays, patients know to look at several sites in order to corroborate information,” said Dr. Cesaretti. “As they search online, they want to see practices that have high visibility in search engines and they want to read patient reviews. This gives them the confidence to go ahead and schedule the appointment or procedure.”
Dr. Cesaretti’s presentation provides a case study of how patients today research their medical choices online – from procedures to physicians – and find his health center through their online marketing efforts with Vitals. Cutler will discuss how increasing fragmentation in the health care marketplace makes it critical for practices to increase their digital footprint.
“The Greystone event provides an important opportunity to bring together top healthcare executives responsible for growing their organizations’ online visibility and patient acquisition with leading internet health services,” added Cutler. “Leveraging patient ratings and tools like Vitals Patient Link allow practices to gain visibility among patients in an increasingly competitive healthcare landscape.”
About Vitals
Vitals aims to make better health possible. We are a leader in providing online tools that enable healthcare consumers to make informed decisions about both the quality and cost of their medical care. Through health plans, hospitals, and our leading consumer websites, Vitals helps more than 150 million people each year access information for better, more affordable care.
Learn more at vitals.com, visit Vitals on Facebook or connect with Vitals on Twitter.
About First Radiation Oncology Group/ Orlando Physician Specialists/Premier Physicians of New York
FROG’s network of Cancer Centers throughout the New York, Florida and Georgia region is dedicated to providing opportunities for you and your family members to participate in a tremendous number of cancer research trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and numerous other leading institutions and organizations.
Rosie Mattio, Vitals, http://www.vitals.com, +1 9175836349, [email protected]
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