Three ways patient behaviour is changing

How you need change your medical practice’s approach

October 24, 2018

David Douglas

Director – Medical Website Solutions | Head of Health Marketing.
Over 15 years of website and online marketing experience.

Here are three of the biggest changes our medical clients and the wider industry are experiencing:

1. New research indicates one in every three patients (33%) are researching their medical symptoms online – For better of for worse Dr Google is alive and well.

• Whilst this is not new in itself the research indicates this behaviour has increased from 25% of patients researching their medical symptoms just a few years ago.

2. Patients are researching medical specialists and asking their GP to refer them to their choice of specialist.

• This feedback is happening across the board from our range medical specialists including Orthopaedic Surgeons, IVF Specialists, Mental Health Professionals, Ophthalmologists and Haematologists.
• This approach is also on the upward trajectory.

3. Large increase in page visits and time spent on page in relation to Medical Professional Staff Bios

• We regularly monitor the Google Analytics we pin to our clients websites. In most cases we are seeing a big rise in statistics particularly in relation to:
  • Page visits to Medical Professionals bio page/s – This statistic measures how may people visit the bio pages to find out more about the experience of a medical professional.
  • Time spent on Medical Professionals bio page/s –  We are seeing the time spent on Medical Professional Bio page/s rise significantly as more patients read this information in detail.

How can your Medical Practice benefit from this information:

1. Provide detailed information on your website that addresses patient interests (particularly your services), concerns and problems. Keep the information as patient friendly as possible. They are your target audience.

2. Make sure you have great medical staff bio’s on your website complete with professional photos. Bios build trust. Highlight education, experience and areas of interest for each individual medical professional.

3. Ensure your website’s information up to date – A great rule of thumb, for every change of season, it should bring change to your website and the opportunity update and refresh information.

I hope you enjoyed this article – We’ll keep you updated with more of our findings soon

This article was designed to help you take the basic steps to set your website up for success. Whilst this list is by no means exhaustive it provides the foundation you can use to improve your websites results.

“Our strategic approach to website design and online marketing has delivered great results for the vast majority of medical practices we work with!
If you have any questions please feel free to call or email me.”

David Douglas – Medical Website Solutions

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