admin | November 19, 2012
Patients Google more than just symptoms. According to a new study, they
research doctors and procedures to help them make medical decisions.
Manhattan Research surveyed 5,210 adults who use the Internet for
healthcare information and found that 54 percent go online to choose
doctors and to decide which services they might need.
“Once the Affordable Care Act takes effect at the
beginning of next year, millions of patients will be seeking out a new
doctor online.”
More than half of those patients who have been diagnosed with chronic
illness for at least a year sought out treatment information online.
And more strikingly, 20 percent of patients choose a primary care
physician based on what they read online.
Google Your Name Before Your Patients Do
Most patients begin the quest for healthcare information on search
engines like Google and Bing, so it’s more important than ever for
doctors to manage their e-presence. And once the Affordable Care Act
takes effect at the beginning of next year, millions of patients will be
seeking out a new doctor – some for the first time.
In an article by
American Medical News,
Howard Luks, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, said his patients frequently
tell him they found him because of what they read on his website.
“People want to trust you as a person,” said Luks to American Medical
News. “They are going to pick you over the best hospital in the country
because of the way you humanize your existence and your presence using
tools like YouTube or Vimeo or a simple Web cam.”
How to Beef Up Your Online Presence
Here’s what you can do to improve search rankings and reel in new patients:
- Manage listings on ratings sites that appear at the top of search
results. Make sure the name, address, phone number, website URL and
practice information are all current.
- Use social media to boost search rankings, and to stay in touch with
current patients and extend reach to new ones. Patients use Facebook
and Twitter every day. Read more about how eye care practices can use social media to market their businesses.
- Keep your website up-to-date. Blog posts and news stories are easy
ways to maintain a strong Google presence that makes it easier for
patients to find you online.
For daily practice marketing tips, follow Haag-Streit on
Twitter and ‘like’ us on
Facebook.
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admin |
To help curb the risk of transmitted diseases, Haag-Streit International
has revised the recommended procedure for cleaning and disinfecting
Goldmann tonometer prisms.
Here’s what’s new:
- Clinicians should wear disposable gloves throughout the cleaning process.
- We recommend the use of a Desinset plastic tray during cleaning and disinfecting.
- Updates to the list of suitable disinfectants.
Download the PDF version of the
revised instructions for cleaning reusable prisms.
Tonosafe Disposable Prisms: Safer and Faster
But if you don’t want to spend additional time and money on disinfecting reusable prisms, switch to
Tonosafe disposable prisms. It’s the safest way to prevent the spread of diseases at your practice.
A 2011 study at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System found
virtually no accuracy difference in readings from disposable and
reusable prisms (including patients with extreme IOP). Since the results
of the study, the healthcare system began to phase out reusable prisms
for Tonosafe disaposables.
Learn more about Tonosafe disposable prisms.
