You don’t just want your ophthalmology practice to succeed. You want it to thrive! Optimizing your ophthalmology practice, however, isn’t just about building a business through word of mouth anymore. It relies on a series of optimization practices that will help take your practice beyond simply getting by to becoming one of the largest, fastest-growing practices in your city.
Your Website
Your website is the first interaction that many customers will have with your practice. A well-constructed website is like a warm, welcoming receptionist who is helpful, practical, and willing to go the extra mile to make patients happy while they’re waiting to step into your office. A great first impression goes a long way! There are several things that your ophthalmology website needs.
A list of your specialties. You may work in a busy city with a number of ophthalmologists. Chances are, however, that you don’t share all the same specialties. Be sure your website includes information about the things that you do best.
Local search keywords. When you have a business that requires customers to visit in person, you need a website that is optimized for local search traffic. Include your physical address and directions to it on your website and be sure that your blog posts continue to use local keywords in order to make the most of local searches.
Patient resources. A great website helps take your patient experience to the next level whether they’re browsing while they sit in the office or double-checking information from home. Use your website to share information that includes what your patients can expect during an exam, what they need to do following dilation or other routine procedures, and information about the latest advances within your specialty. Patient resources can also include forms that patients will need to fill out prior to their visit.
Your Marketing Plan
A successful business, whether it’s a store or a medical practice, has a solid marketing plan that’s designed to reach the number and type of customers that is most appropriate to your business. Obviously, there is a level of patient growth that can’t be supported satisfactorily. You must start out with a clear, detailed goal that explains your marketing efforts. It is recommended that you have both a one-year plan for immediate goals and a five-year plan that sets out what you hope to accomplish for your practice long-term.
Developing a quality marketing plan begins with deciding what your target patient audience is. Do you prefer a certain age range? Gender? Does your practice typically market to a specific income bracket? Determining all of these key factors can make it easier to see where your marketing efforts should be directed.
Don’t forget the importance of your online presence when developing your marketing plan. Your customers are well-informed and tech-savvy. In many cases, they’re checking out your reviews, your website, and your social media accounts long before making a decision about your practice.
Your Recall System
Modern recall practices must be more streamlined and technology-based than ever before. A postcard reminder that it’s time for a recheck isn’t enough to bring your patients back anymore. Instead, you need to have an effective recall system that will bring them back to your office for future procedures and continuing needs. Returning patients are the true backbone of your practice. To acquire them, your recall system needs:
- Text, email, and phone reminders that can be tailored to individual patient preferences
- Automatic scheduling at the end of each appointment, even if you’re setting appointments for a year in the future
- Efficient recall software that tracks high-value patients, conversion rates, deceased patients, and other critical information that will keep your practice flowing smoothly.
Referral Sources
Generating referrals means getting your name out there and making sure it’s known by referring doctors. It also means ensuring that when you do receive a referral, you provide a quality experience. Referring practices listen to what their patients have to say about their experience with your office. They want to know that their patients are getting in fast, that they’re treated well while they’re there, and that you’re providing the quality treatment their patients need and deserve.
Patients are going to keep visiting doctors that they know, trust, and believe in. They want a high-quality experience that leaves them feeling as though you care what they have to say, care about them as individuals, and care how the visit goes. If you aren’t offering a high-quality experience for your patients, you aren’t going to continue to get referrals from their primary providers.
Practice Branding
When it comes to building a successful practice, your brand matters! Your ophthalmology practice’s brand is the way they are viewed by potential patients, referring physicians, and more. From your color scheme to your tagline, your brand will help create the impression that patients receive both before and after they enter your waiting room. It helps to start with a creative brief that asks all the critical questions about how you want your practice to be viewed, then build on those answers to create a brand that will draw in patients and show them what your practice is capable of accomplishing for them.
Insurance Reimbursement Contracts
Often, the question of which practice a patient uses comes down to one thing: whether or not the practice takes their insurance. As you’re deciding which insurance contracts you want to keep, take into consideration the number of patients you have and how busy your schedule looks. If, for example, you find that you’re routinely booked at least two weeks out and struggling to find room for new referrals, consider dropping the worst-paying insurance contracts or those who take the longest to pay out. You’ll automatically reduce your number of patients and decrease your headaches along with them.
Optimizing your ophthalmology practice starts with developing a clear picture of your ideal client base, from the insurance contracts you want to keep to the type of patient you want. From there, you’ll build your marketing plan, design your website, and seek out referral sources that will drive the business you need. Looking for more information about building the best possible practice? Contact us today for more information.