Interview2020 Practice Growth Survey Report: Interview With PatientPop

The data science team at PatientPop, in the 2020 Practice Growth Report, uncovered a number of findings including not limited to the tie between online reviews and reporting of strong revenue. This is interesting because one-quarter of healthcare providers do not currently address their online reviews or reputation. Patient acquisition remains a major frustration and 35 percent of providers say communicating with their patients digitally is most important. To learn more about the report we conducted an interview with PatientPop.

1. Can you tell us more about PatientPop?

PatientPop is the leader in practice growth with the only all-in-one solution that empowers healthcare providers to improve every digital touchpoint of the patient journey. As experts in the healthcare technology space, PatientPop makes it easy for providers to thrive in the consumerization of healthcare and promote their practice online, attract patients, and retain them for life.

With a commitment to continuous innovation, PatientPop helps practices attract more patients, manage their online reputation, modernize the patient experience, automate their front office, and integrate with the most widely used EMRs for a holistic approach to practice growth.

2. Is there a relationship between online reviews and healthcare practice performance?

 Absolutely. Patients have more care options than ever before and rely on online resources and reviews to make decisions rapidly. To stay competitive and relevant in this environment, online reviews are imperative to help practices adjust to consumer demands.

 3. What does growth mean when it comes to healthcare practices?

When it comes to healthcare practices, growth is the end result of promoting to, attracting and, most importantly, retaining patients. Practices have repeatedly seen this growth by optimizing their online presence and, therefore, attracting the right patients to their services, which keeps them coming back.

4. Are most healthcare providers addressing their online reputation at all?

 Some are, but many don’t have the tools to be effective. The technology PatientPop uses to help practices manage their online reputation consists of automatic patient surveys, website promotion of positive reviews, monitoring of external review sites and more. Tools such as these are crucial when it comes to online reputation, and many providers simply don’t have the time or resources to do it all.

5. What benefits would a practice gain when considering online reviews?

When patients are searching for a new provider online reviews are crucial. In a recent study, 68% of people said that online reviews influence their decision when choosing a provider. By receiving not only good reviews but frequent good reviews, practices should expect to see growth.

Receiving frequent reviews can also be helpful for practices in identifying potential issues. If they were to receive the same negative feedback multiple times, it would be easier to find the issue and make positive changes for the future.

6. How could online reputation affect the patient’s decision-making process?

As mentioned earlier, 68% of consumers take online reviews into account when choosing a provider. This makes it crucial to not only have this positive online reputation but to also have promoted the practice enough to where it’s visible to the potential consumer. Only once a consumer is aware of a provider are they able to be attracted by their online presence and choose that practice.

7. What should practices consider to improve their communication with patients?

Online scheduling and automatic appointment reminders are incredibly helpful when communicating with patients. By providing an online scheduling tool for patients, they are no longer limited to scheduling their appointments during normal working hours; they can schedule anytime with ease. The automatic reminders are also a great way to reduce no-shows and cancellations as well as follow-up with patients by providing them with surveys about their experience. Tools such as these will not only provide ease for patients but reduce the burden for administrative staff as well.

8. Which do you think is more important to the healthcare practice: in-person experience or online reputation? Why?

Both are incredibly important because of the way they affect the other. As important as an online reputation is, patients will always value positive in-person connections and experiences with their provider. These experiences are then what end up crafting the honest and positive online reputations that draw in future patients. The two areas complement each other perfectly.

9. How do you see private practice in the coming 5-years?

Private practice will continue to grow as patients demand a more personal and focused experience from doctors. With technology growing at a rapid pace, I see private practices using technology to stay in touch and provide more out-of-office support to patients.

10. What recommendations would you like to give healthcare providers and practices to improve their business, gain growth and acquire more patients?

There are three most important things we believe all providers should focus on: promoting your practice online, attracting patients and retaining them for life. Healthcare practices need to become drastically modernized as we move into the new decade. We’ve seen improvements in health tech in so many ways, and we truly believe the next big change is going to come on the digital front.