Physical Therapist Ranked in Top Health Care Professions

According to recent data analysis, jobs in Physical Therapy are ranked fifth on the list of top job opportunities.Other jobs rated in the top five professions are biomedical engineer, dental hygienist, occupational therapist and optometrist.

CareerCast.com evaluated each profession on the 2013 Jobs Rated report released on December 3rd. The rankings were based upon quality of four main criteria; environment, outlook, income and stress. The data was provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, with additional data from trade associations and industry groups.

As a result of the growth of the healthcare industry there have been projections of an estimated 31% growth in career opportunities in the medical industry, thats an addition of 4.6 million jobs. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupational and physical therapists also are expected to be in high demand during the next few years.

More data from U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics also reveals the prediction of 33% more Occupational Therapists working by 2020, according to a 2012 occupational outlook. The number of employed Physical Therapists is also expected to grow by a significant 39% by 2020.

With the consideration of the four factors most essential to job satisfaction, combined with the projected growth of the industry, a career in Physical Therapy is the place to be.

Additional Health Care Industry Data from the top 12 professions 2013 Jobs Rated report:

• Biomedical engineer, 62% projected growth

• Dental hygienist, 38% projected growth

• Occupational therapist, 33% projected growth

• Optometrist, 33% projected growth

• Physical therapist, 39% projected growth

• Chiropractor, 28% projected growth

• Speech pathologist, 23% projected growth

• Pharmacist, 25% projected growth

• Podiatrist, 20% projected growth

• Respiratory therapist, 28% projected growth

• Medical records technician, 21% projected growth

• Physician assistant, 30% projected growth

Affordable Care Leaves Consumers Confused

A critical problem in healthcare marketing today, specifically with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is the marketing is not put into understandable terms for public consumers. Ongoing polls show that the most effective advertising and marketing are those with a considerable amount of basic text infused with informed persuasion, an aspect which has been continually lacking in the industry today.

Everyone tends to assume that the public has some knowledge of the ACA, as the media has had us immersed in this widespread and controversial health care reformation. However recently there have been discoveries that the general public does not understand the majority of the information that has been provided to them regarding this significant change in healthcare.

As reported in the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: March 2013 57% of Americans, with the information provided to them, do not grasp how the changes the ACA is constituting will affect them. Perhaps more importantly, the marketing is ineffective to the most relevant audience, those with income under $40,000 and the uninsured.

A more recent mid August Gallup poll found that 3 in 10 Americans were not familiar with the ACA. Despite the continued efforts of the Obama administration to raise awareness on the health care law; according to Gallup 15 percent of Americans say they are very familiar with the law. Fifty-three percent say they are somewhat familiar with the ACA, 18 percent are not too familiar, and 12 percent are not familiar at all. This shows the essential issue with the effectiveness of the ACA’s health care marketing campaign.

Additionally, Gallup reports that there is still a significant amount of apprehension from the American public regarding this new law. “More Americans disapprove (49%) than approve (41%) of the Affordable Care Act. An additional 11% have no opinion. As this landmark legislation enters the next phase in its implementation process, it remains divisive. With the exception of a bounce likely caused by President Barack Obama’s re-election in November 2012, Americans have been more disapproving than approving of the healthcare law.”

What health care professionals can learn from this information, is that though medical jargon may be commonplace for you in your practice, the most effective marketing that will yield clients is information that they can understand. Infuse your in depth understanding to very basic relatable language and you will have the perfect combination for effective marketing.

Tracking Effectiveness of Your Marketing Plan

No matter the marketing method or methods your practice is utilizing, from online ads to radio, you should be aware of the results these means of advertising are yielding your business. In whatever decision you’re making regarding marketing there are ways to track your ROI, or return on investment. Here are some ways how:

Every outside interaction your business has should positively reflect your staff and practice, this can be something as basic as answering an incoming phone call. An inbound phone call could be a potential patient and or possibly a new referral source, which is the lifeblood of your business. Email should hold more significance to your staff than purging a full inbox, as email is a primary method of outreach for new patients. To ensure you are keeping your outside relations as positive as possible, reiterate appropriate methods to your staff and emphasize the importance of these vessels of communication.

Some more ways to increase the value of these methods and overcome objections from your staff are:

• Increase incentive by compensating them with every converted new patient appointment.
• Train them to understand their benefits; such as job security, potential for professional growth, financial security for them and their employer.
• Utilize digital resources for tracking for convenience and efficiency

When interacting with potential clients and referral sources, remember to listen to their needs and ask open ended questions. If you are trying to gauge the effectiveness of a new online advertising, there are a few questions you can easily tap into a conversation with a caller:

1. How did you hear about us?
2. Where did you see our advertisement?
3. What was it about the ad that encouraged you to contact us?

To keep track of these observations, create a log, excel spreadsheet or notebook with the patients name, phone number and response. There are even programs available that can record phone conversations that can be saved in your database, this can be valuable for tracking ROI as well as ensuring your staff is providing your standard of customer service.

Keeping Patients Through the Test of Time

Recent surveys reveal that 25% of patients leave medical practices each year for a variety of reasons. These reasons can go unknown to practitioners until complaints or negative reviews appear on the internet, publicly decreasing the value and trust current and potential clients have in your practice. There are some simple solutions to avoid losing patients and keep the reputation of your staff and practice at their best.

Having untrained or unprofessional staff members interacting with patients is the fastest way to lose that patient. Be sure to thoroughly train employees and make sure they have sufficient knowledge on proper customer interaction as well. Be in tune with the workings of your practice, provide an open relationship with staff for feedback and opportunities for improvement.

The simplest way to improve your doctor patient relationship as well as to evaluate your staff and overall quality of service is a patient satisfaction survey. Getting the quality of your care at its best is especially important now as by 2015, the Health reform’s new medicare stipulations provide for reimbursement based on satisfaction scores. Through a company, an online template, or your own method conduct quarterly customer satisfaction surveys. Analyze the results and strengthen any points of weakness in your customer experience.

Patients often cite long wait times before and during appointments as a con of their experience with their doctor. Each patient and their medical condition is different, getting times down to an exact precise science is an unrealistic expectation. With this in mind, have a system established with your front desk to call patients in the event of a delay or if you’re running late. Patients will appreciate this respect and consideration and are more likely to forgive the inconvenience.

Connect with your patient. Forming a friendship and personal relationship will make the patient have a deeper connection with you, making the overall experience of visiting your office a comfortable one. When explaining medical details with patients also remember they have not had your medical training, instead of the use of technical lingo explain things in terms that they can understand. Be a human first, ask questions, be understanding and be approachable, patients return to great people not just great service.

Has Your Practice Gone Mobile?

Over 93 percent of all adults now have cell phones, the new standard is that these cell phones are internet accessible. Experts are forecasting that within the next couple years more people will be using their phones for internet access than desktop computers. Is your website mobile friendly? Computer accessible sites and mobile sites are not the same, small print and a different page configuration can cause slow loading. With consumers now being accustomed to a certain standard of speed and accessibility with web browsing, you do not want to be the one behind on your mobile website.

With 93 percent of adults using mobile internet, that is a large amount of potential clients that could be using your site. This growing technology is not just modernization but a marketing  opportunity. By going mobile you will have access to millions of smartphone users, you will have a clean easily navigable site, faster loading and better Google search rankings. Going mobile will expand the arms of your practice as well as providing a bottomless amount of potential for new clientele.

Concierge Care On the Rise

Modern day healthcare has turned alarmingly systematic. Due to recent changes in the healthcare industry, doctors using the pay-per-visit model are faced with the responsibility of taking care of literally thousands of patients per year and the added complication of contacting individual insurance providers for payment. This creates a disconnected relationship between doctor and patient and additional obstacles of dealing with insurance providers. Both caregiver and caretaker are now considering concierge medicine, or direct primary care (DPC), for both the financial aspect and the overall increase in quality of care.

Concierge is a healthcare membership or subscription in the way that you are not paying per visit but per month for unlimited access to doctors and all the medical services they can provide. For the patient this means more doctor visits and more personalized care, which can result in overall improvement of health by providing a level of diligent preventative medicine.

For doctors, this model of healthcare business is beneficial because patients pay upfront, there are higher premiums, lower reimbursements and low overhead. These factors also result in improvement in career satisfaction, as doctors are faced with less burnout and are able to provide the best care to each individual patient.

However, the success of a concierge medicine practice is heavily dependent on location. In an area of middle and upper class income a Concierge practice is likely to flourish. As more and more people are realizing their dissatisfaction in the changing healthcare industry, spreading the word about concierge medicine is beneficial. Marketing is essential to getting recognition and legitimizing your participation in this rising trend in healthcare.

The Importance of Utilizing Social Media Platforms In Your Practice

In the modern world, the digital platform is constantly growing and is more essential in our lives that ever before. Digital media is where social interaction, business and media consumption take place, and it now a substantial influence on the healthcare industry. Paper ads and word of mouth are no longer enough to bring in patients, medical practices that are not participating in the new wave of the technological world are at risk of being drowned out by the constant stream of advertising on social networks and digital media platforms.

There are legitimate reasons for medical practices to be apprehensive to involvement in social media; patient privacy, image as well as the time consumption aspect regarding upkeep of the sites. This is the way the world is moving, and with the right plan of action your digital media platform can provide your practice with a competitive edge, consistent business, and the promise of growth.

According to iHealth Beat 80 percent of people using the internet will use it to seek medical information, and Pew Research states that almost 50 percent of people use the internet to seek information on healthcare professionals. That is a huge amount of consumers searching for services, a huge opportunity for networking and a necessary tool to communicate with potential patients. Where will you be on Google search when a potential client is looking for a local healthcare facility specializing in your field? If one of your patients recommends you to a friend, and that person seeks out a website, social network profile, or reviews and turns up with ‘no results found’, the reflection on your business is not a promising one.

A multitude of information regarding your healthcare practice on the Web further legitimizes your practice to current and potential clients. When people seek further information on you and reach a dead end, that usually leads their search in another direction. To begin your expansion to online media, start by putting yourself in a patient’s shoes, provide visually pleasing and confidence reinforcing images. Consistency is key, when using different media outlets be sure that each is providing the same message, the mission of your practice and your unique services.

With your website as your groundwork, the essential representation of your business, all other social media and digital forums

are outlets to build upon that foundation. The fundamental  function of digital communication mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ is to provide a way to communicate with potential clients. With this in mind, it is important to create and facilitate ways to have your potential clients interact with you via these different outlets.

To keep your sites as up-to-date, successful and free from glitches as possible, be present; post frequently and respond to messages. Accessibility and connecting with potential clients will make them feel cared for even before stepping foot in your office. These methods do require putting in time and effort, but they also provide for limitless potential on how many new clients you can receive, elevating your reputation, as well as increasing revenue for your business practice.

LinkedIn Is The Professional-Serious Social Media For Physicians.

The LinkedIn groups feature might just be the best online professional forum for the conversation of healthcare and marketing ideas, material and common-interest networks. Today, LinkedIn is the third most-popular social media site (following Facebook and Twitter), with a current roll call of about 225 million users, and over 1.2 million groups. LinkedIn presents many opportunities to connect with other like-minded medical professionals and potential patients seeking information about health care, while also giving your practice a platform to market its services to the right audiences. The time is now to tap into this social platform by building credibility for your medical expertise and spreading the word about your practice. LinkedIn Groups provide a platform for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to exchange content, post and view jobs, make business contacts, find answers,  and establish themselves as industry experts.

Here is our list of top LinkedIn groups for healthcare professionals and physicians to join.

Forum for Healthcare Strategists

Health Care Communication News

Health Care Marketing Network

Healthcare Executive US

Healthcare Executives Network

Healthcare Intelligence Hub

Healthcare Marketing

Healthcare Marketing & PR Professionals

Healthcare Marketing Network

Healthcare Marketing, Communications and Education Professionals

Healthcare Patient/Customer Satisfaction

Healthcare Sales & Marketing

Hospital Marketing and Advertising

Hospital Sales & Marketing Professionals

HPRMA – The Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Association

Medical Marketing & Communications Group

Medical Marketing Network

Medical Practice Management

Medical/Healthcare Communications, Education, Advertising & Marketing Professionals

Professional Healthcare Marketers

Social Marketing in Healthcare

Social Media Health Care Marketing

Social Media Marketing for the Health Care Field

Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development

The Healthcare Marketing Community

Physician Liaisons, Physicians Relations & Practice Representatives

Physician Relation Strategies

Physician Relationship Management Group

Newsletters- A Great Way To Stay In Touch With Your Client Base

One of the best ways to stay in touch with your patient base is a newsletter, however, a template medical, dental or physical therapy newsletters you simply just place your logo on is NOT the way to go. The kind of newsletter we’re talking about is experiencing a resurgence of popularity in some markets.

Has someone on your staff gotten married, given birth or won an award? Do you know what your patients like to do in their spare time? Has one of your patients done something outstanding for the community or graduated from college or earned a big promotion at work? Or what their hobbies and interests are? Have you added a new physician or a new technology?

Those are the things your newsletter should be about. Of course, every issue should have one article with something interesting about your specialty. But the rest… lighten up and engage your patients! Smart medical, dental practitioners and other healthcare practitioners have learned to speak the language of their most influential patients – women, wives and mothers.

Women are generally the healthcare decision-makers and drivers in their households. Women are the ones who make sure their loved ones get the care they need. And women are the ones who are more likely to read articles about the social aspects of your practice than the clinical.

Not only can you send to current patients, you can also send newsletters to other prospect patients in the community to engage them and build awareness toward your practice. Newsletters that are emailed to your patient base (or eNewsletters) are a very cost effective way to stay in touch with your patient base and do internal marketing for your practice. For more information on the newsletter and blog packages that we offer call us at 631-392-4255

Physical Therapy Specific Marketing

In this age of augmented competition, you have to consider physical therapy marketing to reach out to your existing patients, attract new patients, and also convince and encourage other physicians to refer their patients to you. physical therapy marketing also fulfills various other promotional goals like creating a unique identity for your practice and harnessing the power of various traditional and new media outlets to spread the word about you. But to be able to reap these benefits, you need specialized physical therapy marketing services.

Physical therapy practices also need to develop professional relationships with local physicians to develop referrals to the practice. This generates more new patients coming into the practice and a building of the patient base. What promotions you leave behind or send out are a direct reflection of your practice. Show your expertise with a professional and customized, therapy newsletter, physician handouts, therapy brochures, physical therapy websites and more. Physical therapy marketing to physicians has to be ferocious as they are very busy people and are bombarded all day long from many other practices and vendors. As are physical therapists, but shouldn’t you rather be concentrating on your patients than be bothered about these marketing tasks?

You have to market frequently and invest a lot into it. However, with the right physical therapy marketing, you will win. This is where Prescription PR can really help you shine. Trust us to attract more referring physicians to your practice. Specialized physical therapy marketing services are necessary to help you reap the benefits of a comprehensive promotional strategy without needing to neglect your practice. So when in need of specialized physical therapy marketing call Prescription PR (631) 974-1824.

Your Patients May Be Your Best Marketing Medium

At Prescription PR, our in-depth knowledge of the healthcare industry has given us the understanding that word-of-mouth marketing rules over all other mediums. That is why, what patients can do to help with marketing is sometimes much more important than any ad or commercial. If you are wondering what your patients can do to help with your marketing than look no further! We have some helpful tips…

Social Media-  When educating our clients—medical facility owners or  physicians with their own offices —on what patients can do to help with marketing, we first draw their attention to the powerful communication instrument of social media. This is a platform where personal and lasting personal relationships are built and a Facebook “like” or a Twitter “re-tweet” is as effective as personal recommendation. After all, most of us ten to be influenced by what are friends suggest!

But to mark the most of what patients can do to help with marketing on social media, we feel physicians have to take the first step, build a connection with their patients and make all energies to be perceived by them as a welcoming, helpful, and knowledgeable professional entity. It is only after this that you can mildly ask for their help to pass it on to their friends so that they can get all the latest health updates on your Twitter page or “like” your informative Facebook page.

Testimonials- A tangible piece of evidence that “real” patients have written about you and your practice, speaking on your behalf about how professional, friendly and helpful your practice is. Individuals browsing through your website will be swayed more by the patient testimonials than all the claims you make on the web banner or in the web copy In fact, you can even leverage on the power of what patients can do to help with marketing by dropping a hint about these testimonials on your social media page. Don’t be afraid to ask for your patients help, most people enjoy spreading great things that they have found.

You now know what patients can do to help with marketing your practice or medical facility. You probably don’t know how you can get them on board with your new marketing approach.  That is because this involves formulating a concentrated marketing strategy, something that Prescription PR knows like the back of our hands. Leave it to us; we have it down pat! Call us at 631-974-1824 or send us an email info@prescriptionpr.com

Staying Positive Through Negative Social Media Comments

Most of us have heard of “White Coat Syndrome” when a patient’s blood pressure spikes due to nervousness of being in or around a doctor’s office or hospital. In some cases it would seem that physicians tend to get “White Coat Syndrome” when it comes to social media. One fear of physicians is negative comments about themselves or their practices. It’s inevitable, the most perfect of doctors will unavoidably find an unflattering, incorrect or outright nasty comment. There are a few things you can do about it…

1. Be the leading voice. The content that you control and originate presents a strong voice among what’s found in online searches. The information that you generate and promote is likely to outweigh others and a better reflection of your reputation.
2.  For an improvement or elimination. Most sites list their contact information, and some (although not many) provide instructions for updates, corrections or amending comments. It never hurts to ask, but generally, success with such requests is limited.
3. Submit a response or update. It is often possible to answer an “unpleasant” comment  with a response or update. Some publishers are reluctant to remove comments, but will often welcome replies that provide words of balance.
4. Be factual, professional and understanding,  not argumentative. Any temptation to “fight back” or argue is a guaranteed losing battle and is likely to attract more attention and make things worse. An understanding tone of voice is more effective.
5. Encourage positive patient feedback. When reminded, patients are often receptive to the idea of making comments, providing testimonials or referring friends and family. The key—which is often neglected—is simply to ask patients.

The Internet, social media and healthcare have become permanently intertwined for good reason: People are at the core of this connectivity. Business-savvy providers understand the mutual, patient experience benefits of engaging patients, building relationships, improving compliance and outcomes, and managing your brand message and reputation.