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Dermatology Marketing & Dermatology Advertising
The definitive 2021 Guide

Successfully marketing your dermatology practice and increasing the number of appointments while utilising the patient journey as a guide. 

The Definite 2021 Guide for Dermatology Marketing & Dermatology Advertising

In recent years, Dermatology Marketing has experienced a transformation: a move away from provider referrals, to search engines with regards to dermatology patient preference when searching for a new dermatologist. As a result of this shift, dermatologists have begun adapting and adjusting dermatology marketing efforts, from liaison services to dermatology advertising.

 

Dermatology advertising agency efforts

Dermatology Marketing agencies focus on the following:

 

  • Dermatologist Website Optimization

  • Dermatology Search Engine Optimization

  • Dermatology PPC (pay per click) Advertising

  • Dermatology Social Media Marketing

 

 

Why and when do dermatology advertising & dermatology marketing fail?

Healthcare in general, and more specifically, in dermatology practices, there is no one-fits-all approach. Healthcare marketing agencies are mostly generic marketing agencies that chose to target healthcare, but they lack expertise when it comes to dermatology. As such, these generic marketing agencies fail to fully understand the dermatology patient journey and their patient persona. This results in dermatology marketing budgets being wasted and showing only minimal returns of investment (ROI).

 

How should dermatology marketing be done?

Everything pertaining to marketing begins with first defining the dermatology patient persona, specifically for your practice.

If you worked with digital marketing agencies in the past, they probably promoted various versions of your services to google ads and Facebook ads. The results of these tactics were likely disappointing. These poor results stem from the promotion being generic, and lacking when it comes to the vital pre-work and structure that is needed to enable marketers to target patients exactly where they are in their journey to your dermatology practice.

Defining the dermatology patient persona

Before we discuss the detailed ins and outs of the dermatology patient journey, and how and where to target your patients with advertising,  it is important to first define who your patients are. This can be done by answering questions relevant to:

  • Demographics (e.g., age, gender, education, occupation)

  • Psychographics (e.g., hobbies and interests)

  • Geographics (e.g., location)

  • Behavioral Traits (e.g., personality and demeanor)

 

Why is the dermatology patient persona important for dermatology marketing?

Because it allows us to know exactly WHERE, WHEN, and HOW to approach prospective dermatology patients.

For example: If your ideal patient is 20 years old and you attempt to target them through Facebook, you will find that your marketing budget will be wasted, and no success will come from this strategy. Furthermore, if you are a dermatologist who specializes in pediatrics, you should promote your practice through channels that have the demographic granularity to target parents. At the same time however, these promotions should also clearly define to parents the preferred patient age. This way, your ad being wasted on parents who have grown up kids in college can be avoided. Countless of considerations like these are taken seriously by PHARMED in order to maximize your ROI and effectively use your digital budget.

 

After we have defined your ideal patient, we move towards finding where they are in their journey so we can target them with the appropriate dermatology advertising and dermatology marketing solutions.

Dermatology Marketing & Dermatology Advertising Trends in 2021: The Dermatology Patient Journey

Dental Marketing and Dental Advertising trends 2021

The dermatology patient journey has four steps. We will discuss these steps while demonstrating to you how PHARMED targets dermatology patients in every step of their journey through the use of dermatology ads and other marketing efforts.

Step 1: Dermatology Symptom Awareness

 

In the first part of their journey, dermatology patients are experiencing symptoms and are looking ONLINE for contextualization, reassurance, and diagnosis. Common early dermatological symptoms for patients may include pain and discomfort, i.e. itchiness, rashes, discoloration of the skin, and more.

Patient problem: ​Finding relevant information regarding their symptoms.​

Your Solution: Dermatological symptom awareness and an awareness of your own brand.

At this stage, dermatology patients may not be acquainted with your dermatology practice name or brand name. You can increase familiarity with these things amongst prospective patients by offering tangible value: Appropriate, balanced, scientific information relevant to their symptoms.

We can do this together with: 

  • Content Generation for Dermatological Symptom Awareness

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM, Google Ads)

  • Social Media Marketing (SMM, Facebook Ads)

 

Content Generation for Symptom Awareness

Unless your presence in the digital realm, such as your dermatology practice website, have appropriate content, patients will be more inclined to book with competing practices. Content should include keywords relevant to dermatology services you offer, accompanied by detailed explanations of symptoms that you treat.

 

We can do this together with:

  1. Disease Awareness Presentations

  2. Medical Brochure Design

  3. Keeping an up to date dermatology blog on your website.

 

 

Dermatology Awareness Presentations

 

Why disease awareness presentations?

Over 90% of patients use Google to search for symptoms and diagnosis before they start searching for a doctor.

You, as a dermatologist, are responsible for ensuring that your patients are educated and shielded from misinformation on the internet, making disease awareness presentations vital. Additionally, there are significant benefits for you, as disease awareness presentations will:

  • Demonstrate your authority in the field

  • Show patients that you genuinely care about their wellbeing and dermatological health

  • Boost organic traffic to your dermatology website

  • Ultimately increase your reputation and get more appointments booked.

 

What are the PHARMED disease state presentations?

PHARMED doctors and medical writers will produce for your practice a unique disease state presentation consisting of 40 slides that include content, graphs, images, and peer reviewed journal references. These presentations will be created such that they are perfectly adapted to your target audience. Sample contents of a disease state presentation include:

  • Overview of dermatological disease

  • Epidemiology and Burden of dermatological disease

  • Pathophysiology

  • Aetiology

  • Symptoms & Signs of dermatology-related disease

  • Diagnosis

  • Prognosis

  • Management

 

Medical Brochure Design

 

Why do I need brochures for my dermatology practice?

Working closely with designers, PHARMED medical doctors will produce for your practice a professionally illustrated brochure. This will provide you and your practice a powerful way to:

  • Demonstrate your services and staff to colleagues in order to create a stable route of travel for referrals to reach new patients.

  • Showcase your expertise and dermatology branding.

  • Explain dermatology treatments & services to patients.

  • Use call to action to get more dermatology appointments.

  • Offer promotions that will draw in both existing and new patients to your practice.

 

Dermatology Blog Content

The content included on Dermatology Websites forms the basis of online visibility for dermatology practices. The best way to increase your website content without negatively impacting users' experience with the website’s navigation is through blogging. PHARMED’s signature dermatology website comes with an active dermatology blog module that allows you to produce blog entries yourself, or rather, leave it to PHARMED doctors to blog on your behalf.

 

Why do I need others to blog on my behalf?

Subscribing to the PHARMED dermatology blogging package will provide for you a medical doctor or healthcare professional who will produce original blog content for your dermatology website. Here are the benefits of this:

  • Dermatology Practice Referrals: Strong blog content will lead to other medical websites and blogs linking back to you, leading more patients to your website.

  • High Quality: Content will be created by medical professionals on the topics of your choosing. All content will be referenced, concise, balanced, and appropriate for your patient audience.

  • Consistency: Blog updates will follow a strict schedule, without any interruptions. This is important as websites that are inactive end up getting negatively effected in the search engine rankings.

  • SEO:  When blogging is done by doctors and SEO experts, it involves expert keyword research which leads to higher rankings on search engines.

  • Show that you are online: An active blog shows to prospective patients an active, vibrant, and dedicated dermatology practice.

  • Stand out as authority in your field: Provide useful information that visitors may not have access to otherwise, that will engage and retain patients.

 

 

Search Engine Optimization for Dermatology Practices (SEO)

 

What is SEO?

SEO is a marketing strategy that aims to grow a website's visibility via organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO involves both technical and creative elements that are needed to improve your dermatology practice’s online rankings, increase website traffic, and spread awareness of your practice across search engines.

SEO is essentially the process of getting visits to your website through the ‘free,’ ‘organic,’ ‘editorial’ or ‘natural’ search engine results.

 

Why is Dermatology SEO different than any other type of SEO?

Dermatology SEO, much like any SEO that pertains to the medical field, plays two major roles: Web content must be adapted for search engine crawlers, this will ensure that your website ranks high in search results. However, it must also be comprehendible and non-ambiguous to possible patients who interact with it. Misleading medical or dermatology content is not only bad practice but can also be cause for lawsuits. Therefore, we feel strongly that only healthcare marketing professionals with a degree in life sciences should be involved in medical SEO, and particularly, dermatology SEO.

 

Why is SEO important?

  • Discoverability: Organic searches are most often the primary source of website traffic.

  • SEO Builds Trust & Credibility: The goal of any experienced SEO professional is to create a strong basis for a beautiful website that provides a clean and effective user experience easily discoverable through online searches. This will all come from the trust and credibility of the brand and the website’s digital properties.

  • It is actually do or die: If your dermatology practice is not on page 1 of the search results, you’re not winning the click. It’s no secret in the world of SEO that if you’re not showing up immediately, you’re unlikely to be reaching prospective dermatology patients through organic searches. A recent study shows that the first three organic search ranking positions result in nearly 40 percent of all click-throughs, while up to 30 percent of all results on pages 1 and 2 don’t get clicked at all.

 

Why is SEO such a complex process?

In addition to the visible content of your website, SEO has to do with the technical (non-visible) part of your website. The authority of your website compared to competing websites is also vital to consider: Usually referred as off-site SEO, this is the number of "backlinks", or, links on other websites thag lead to yours. It's comparable to the citations at the end of a journal article.

 

SEO leads to free website traffic and can help increase visits to your page by up to 50% or more. For this reason, it supplements, and often parallels, paid dermatology advertising methods. However, it is also a process that is both time consuming and extensively ongoing.

 

On-Site Search Engine Optimization

 

What is On-Site SEO and why is it important?

On-site SEO, also sometimes referred to as on-page SEO, refers to processes that aim to optimize the features and content on your dermatology website. This includes tweaking components of your website such that visitors can easily understand what is presented to them on each page, as well as quickly determine whether answers to the question posed in their original search can be answered on your website. For example, optimizing onsite-SEO includes publishing relevant content, enhancing titles, HTML tags, and images used.

 

Having good on-site SEO allows search engines to interpret your website’s content in the same ways a human visitor would, and increases the chances that your dermatology website will appear in search results when a someone makes a relevant query.

 

Improving your on-site SEO will increase traffic to your website that results from search engine searches and also raise your website up in search engine rankings.

 

Will keywords help improve my On-Site SEO?

Although keywords still matter, they are no longer the most important part of on-site SEO. Modern day search engines are able to carry out more advanced techniques. Instead of simply concluding whether a web page has the same words as a given search query, search engines can now deduce the overarching meaning of a web page through the use of keyword synonyms, and consideration of the surrounding context in which the word appears. For this reason, it is crucial to consider the relevance of your website's content and how helpful it will be with regards to the search queries you hope will lead patients to your website.

 

Web content should therefore be written with search engines and visitors in mind: Content on your website is being produced for prospective patients and should therefore be relevant and of a high quality, while at the same should be produced in a way that search engines can understand.

 

How do I ensure that my website meets the requirements for sufficient On-Site SEO?

To best ensure that your website is reaching its full potential with regards to on-site SEO it should incorporate content that is:

 

  • In-depth: For search engines to sufficiently understand and analyze a website’s content, it must be detailed and elaborate. If content is lacking in depth, it will not find itself reaching its full potential in the rankings.

  • User-friendly: Content should be straightforward, easy to grasp, as well as organized in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate and read. The minimum amount of ads and external links should be included, or should be organized out of the way of core content.

  • Distinguishing: Including content on your website that is not original or unique will significantly decrease its chances of ranking high on search engines

  • Reliable: All information on your practice’s website should be a trustworthy source of information on the given subject area. Remember E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.

 

 

Off-site Search Engine Optimization

 

What is Off-Site SEO?

Off-page SEO essentially refers to any search engine optimization that takes place outside of your actual website’s page. Brand building, content marketing, social media management, and online reviews all play major roles in your website’s off-page SEO.

 

Why do I need Off-Site SEO for my website?

In short, sub-par off-site SEO will lead to significant struggling when it comes to your practice’s website placing in the competitive search engine rankings.

 

What are some things that can help improve my websites Off-Site SEO?

  • Link Building: Link building is one of the most important tactics in building your website’s off-site SEO. Link building is getting other websites to include links to your website’s page on their's. It will help even further to increase your website's rankings if these external websites hold high authority.

  • Brand Building: Building up your practice’s brand will help search engines better understand the credibility of your website and the content that it includes. A strong brand will also naturally bring with it an increase in links and mentions of your website across the web.

  • Content Marketing: Marketing content outside of your own website is critical. For example, sharing a post that gets shared many times on social media platforms, publishing blog posts, or conducting surveys online.

  • Events: Online events such as webinars are important. Not only are they a way to increase online recognition of your practice, but they also are a major contributor to brand building, and therefore increase off-site SEO.

  • Reviews: Online reviews are crucial in forming your practice’s reputation on the web. A medical practice that receives positive reviews on third-party platforms not only reflects a strong brand, but also becomes a strong and trustworthy authority figure in the minds of prospective patients.

 

 

Search Engine Marketing (SEM, Google Ads)

 

What is SEM and how is it relevant to dermatology marketing trends in 2021?

Search engine marketing involves ways to market your practice itself, as well as the services available within in. SEM is also occasionally called paid search or pay per click (PPC). This includes paid advertising that will show up in search engine results. SEM is essential as it provides a major opportunity for advertisements for your practice to be put right in front of prospective patients who require dermatology services.

 

SEM differs from SEO in that it pertains specifically to paid marketing that is located on the web. Contrasty, SEO refers to websites ranking high in search results as a result of including content that relates to a specific questioned that is searched for.

 

How does SEM work and why is it important?

SEM is important because it reaches consumers at an ideal time: when they are actively searching online for new information. Engaging patients in the exact moment they show interest is the best way to get new patients into your practice. When patients are in the process of making online searches for a new dermatology practice is precisely when you want an ad for your practice to come up and draw them in to clicking on your website.

 

SEM works by making these sponsored ads appear at the top and side of search engine results. This is determined by ads having keywords in common with the search query.

 

The best way to create an SEM strategy for your practice is to:

  • Research keywords and produce a list of the words that are most relevant to your website, practice, and services offered.

  • Decide which area of the search results page you would like the ad to be displayed

  • Design a text advertisement for your practice. This will be shown on the search results page

 

 

Social Media Marketing (SMM, Facebook Ads)

 

What is Social Media Marketing for dermatology practices?

SMM utilizes social media platforms to interact with potential patients, better your brand, and boost website visits. SMM consists of creating and posting original content on your practice's social media profiles, while at the same time, maintaining direct engagement with your followers. The most important platforms to think about using for SMM are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

 

How does SMM work?

There are a number of  things to take into account when thinking about SMM. Some important things to know before you begin carrying out your SMM strategy are:

 

  • What you intended aims are with regards to your practice being on social media. This may be that you want to raise awareness for your practice in order to increase the number of patients benefitting from your services, or maybe, to increase engagement with patients- both prospective and current.

 

  • The content that is most appropriate for your practice to produce. Deciding what sort of content will be most attractive to your target audience is a critical step in SMM. Content may include photos, videos, or may be as straightforward as sharing links to helpful websites or articles. Creating a marketing persona can significantly help to guide these decisions.

 

  • The Social Media platforms make the most sense for your practice to be on. It is important to think about which of the many platforms out there will be the most useful in terms of reaching your target audience. This also may depend on the type of content you wish to publish. For example, if you aim to share informative infographics, Instagram may be more useful than Facebook.

 

Once you answer these questions and begin posting content it is important to then maintain involvement with your followers. As your practice gains a following on social media, people may begin to comment on your posts, or engage in conversations about your practice online. Making sure that this engagement is ongoing and adequate on part of your practice is necessary as it can further spread word about your practice. Online engagement with followers will also demonstrate to prospective patients that doctor-patient interactions within your practice are valued and of the highest standard.

Step 2: The Search for Dermatology Treatment

Further on in their journey, dermatology patients are weighing up their treatment options. 90% of patients depend on search engines to find more about a dermatologist even if they have already been recommended to them. Depending on your level of care (primary, secondary, tertiary) they may have gotten a referral to visit your dermatology practice, or the practice of a competitor.

 

Patient problem: ​​Consider their options and choose the right dermatologist for their treatment.​

Your Solution: Give a strong online pitch. Showcase your expertise, brand, and dermatology services. Demonstrate your values, reviews, and ratings.

At this stage, patients may know your brand based off of word of mouth referrals, provider referrals or from earlier stages of their patient journey. They will Google your name or the name of your dermatology practice, then read reviews and view your online listings. Prospective patients will also compare you with other dermatologists and competing practices.

We will steer them towards your practice by:​

  • Physician Liaison Services

  • Google My Business

  • Listings Basic & Pro

  • Reputation Management

 

Dermatology Liaison Services

Dermatology Liaison Services are the Business to Business (B2B) marketing tactics for healthcare practices. A dermatology liaison professional will form relationships with healthcare professionals and other dermatologists who will refer patients to your practice. These doctors tend to be general dermatologists, primary care physicians and internists, however, depending on what your practice specialises in, your expertise, and the dermatology services that you offer, the provider referral network may expand to other professionals.

PHARMED will pinpoint and speak to healthcare professionals and introduce your services and good work to them. It is significant that prior to these interactions, relevant pre-work has been carried out so that you can be confident you are being appropriately represented. Unless you leave other doctors feeling confident in you and your practice, they will be hesitant to refer their patients to you.

B2B marketing is not a universal process. Based on on your unique brand equity and reputation a mix of the following may be used for your practice's B2B marketing:

  • Directory search of relevant local providers

  • Dental LinkedIn marketing

  • Direct email marketing

  • Direct calling

  • Dental Social Media Marketing

 

 

Google My Business for Dermatologists

 

What are the benefits of Google my Business?

Google My Business brings with it a huge variety of benefits that dermatology practices should be aware of. Google My Business can help your practice gain new patients, increase your practice's visibility online, and ensure that current and prospective patients can easily find information as quickly as possible.

It is important to keep in mind that local searches go further than just discovering new dermatology practices. People are looking for services that are available, hours of operation, insurance details, directions, contact information, reviews, and more.

Let's look at the benefits Google My Business offers to local businesses:

An Opportunity for your dental practice to Appear on Listings That You Otherwise Couldn’t

Without a Google My Business listing, you won’t show up on Google Maps or the local pack, and you risk the knowledge panel for your practice being incorrect or too vague.

These are highly prominent listings that stand out to searchers when displayed, and are eye-catching dermatology practice listings in which you want to be included.

 

The Ability to Collect and Display Reviews

Using Google My Business means that you can collect reviews from customers and demonstrate the quality of your products or services to potential patients.

Searchers are always keeping an eye open for social proof that a business deserves their business and in 2021, online reviews are one of the main ways to influence this opinion. A 5-star rating and review stands out, making the development of a strategy to persuade your current patients to rate your services or products a significant way to drive new patients into your dermatology practice.

In addition, it has been reported that reviews are a key ranking factor for local pack results, meaning that most practices simply cannot afford to be the one lacking a strong sense of trust alongside their listing.

 

Gain Insights into Your Business

Google My Business can help you gain insights into your business that you cannot receive from other platforms — they can help in leading your future strategic decisions. These insights include:

  • The number of views your profile, photos, and posts receive.

  • The search queries which people are using to find your dermatology practice.

  • The engagement.

  • A profile of your audience (age groups, gender, and countries).

  • The number of website clicks, phone calls, and direction queries.

To get the most benefit from your Google My Business profile, you need to make sure it is optimized and set up correctly.

 

Dermatology Listings Basic & Pro

 

I am on google, why are other listings important?

Most dermatologists believe that adding their practice on Google my Business or ZocDoc is enough. Most agencies neglect to inform their clients of the vital importance of Listings:

 It is not about a patient going to yellow pages looking for your dermatology practice. It is about creating an large collection of valuable backlinks to your website and ranking higher in search engine results.

How do PHARMED Dermatology listings work?

PHARMED offers a unique listing platform wherein you enter your practice’s information, hours of operation, services, insurance policy, payment methods, images, videos and other relevant content and data. PHARMED will then sync these data to all data aggregators, and over 150 listing platforms for your dermatology practice. Even if you need to change something, for example add alternative holiday hours of operation, everything will be automatically updated across the entire internet.

 

The PHARMED Listing Distribution will submit information for your dermatology practice to the main data aggregators including:

  • Neustar Localeze

  • Factual Data

  • Axle

  • Foursquare

Over time, hundreds of sources will reference these aggregators to collect business data and create accurate listings based on your submitted information. This includes search engines, navigation systems, voice search, mobile apps, and even offline sources like telephone books and government records.

What are the data aggregators?

Data aggregators accumulate consumer and business information and then pass it on to hundreds of listing directories, review sites, search engines, and more. They also power sophisticated applications such as Apple’s Siri and personal navigation systems.

Why is it important for my major data aggregators to have consistent information about my dermatology practice?

When multiple sources have accordant data from a business, there are two outcomes:

  • Search engine crawlers, like Google’s WebCrawler, will discover the same information in multiple places and will increase the confidence in your dermatology practice to their business data.

  • Reliable backlinks are created with more referring sources to the business’ website creating better SEO.

 

 

Reputation Management for Dermatology Practices

 

What is Online Reputation Management for Dermatologists?

Online Reputation Management, or ORM, is a complex idea that aims to create a positive public perception of a brand, business, or person. Reputation management consists of keeping track of reputation, addressing any content or customer feedback that could damage the dermatology practice, and using strategies to prevent and solve problems that may harm an entity's reputation.

 

How is Online Reputation Management for dermatology practices done?

In short, ORM consists of monitoring and managing your dermatology practice’s reputation as it is demonstrated online, making sure that your practice is properly represented and that potential patients are given a great and accurate impression with regards to who you are and what you do.

What type of online media reflect my dermatology practice’s Reputation?

When it comes to the digital world, the term media refers to different platforms and channels a practice can use to attract visitors and patients to their site.

There are generally four different media types that your practice should make use of:

  • Paid: such as social media ads, Google Ads, sponsored articles, influencers.

  • Earned: external review articles, press coverage, blogs and vlogs.

  • Shared: Listing platforms, patient comments on social media.

  • Owned: Your website, your social media accounts and your dermatology blog.

This is commonly also referred to as the PESO model.

 

How can PHARMED help with dermatologists' online reputation managment?

PHARMED offers two solutions for ORM:

  • A DIY tool: The PHARMED reputation management portal

  • A full-service package: The PHARMED reputation management service.

 

What can I do with the PHARMED Dermatology Reputation Management Portal?

Some of the many benefits of the PHARMED ORM portal:

 

Show up where people are searching:

Improve your search rank by identifying online dermatology practice listings that are inaccurate or missing from essential directories like Google, Facebook, and Bing.

 

Be in the know about what’s being said across the internet 

Keep track of when your dermatology practice is mentioned in multiple sources, including news sites, blogs and social networks. Monitor Google Q&A to ask and answer questions right from the dashboard.

 

Stand strong against the competition:

Investigate how your dermatology practice performs against the competing dermatologists on search engines, with regards to reviews, ratings, and social media.

 

Sentiment analysis:

Machine Learning and AI analyze all customer reviews to show you what aspects of your business are praised or criticized. Turn these insights into strategies to improve.

 

What does the PHARMED Reputation Management Portal look like?

Take the reputation of your dermatology practice in your own hands. See the video to find out how:

Step 3: Dermatology treatment Provider Consideration

 

Even later on in their their journey, dermatology patients will be making the choice of which dermatologist they will choose to treat them. 90% of dermatology patients rely on search engines to find more about a dermatologist even if they have already been referred to them.

 

Patient problem: ​Evaluate their options and chose the right dermatologist to treat them.​

Your Solution: Give a strong online pitch. Showcase your dermatological expertise, brand, and services, as well as demonstrate your values, reviews, and ratings.

At this stage, patients may know your brand by word of mouth, provider referral or from the previous stage. They will Google your name or your practice name. They will read your reviews and they will see your online listings. They will compare you with other dermatologists and dermatology practices.

We will steer them towards your practice with:

  • Branding

  • Signature Website

  • HIPAA Compliance

  • ADA Compliance

  • Online Scheduling

  • Chatbot

 

Dermatology Practice Branding

 

Why spend resources on my branding?

A strong brand provides:

  • Recognition and Recall

  • To-the-point communication about your values and expertise

  • A way to set yourself apart from dermatology competitors

  • Protection from competitors via trademark and copy-write

  • Dermatology patient Loyalty

  • Financial value

 

Signature Website

 

I like my current dermatology website; I’d like to keep it.

You may keep your current website; however the PHARMED signature website will provide you with 24h support and rapid response to any changes and updates. Transferring your website to PHARMED is a guaranteed upgrade from your current website.

 

Why do I need to transfer my existing website to PHARMED?

Regardless of the visible elements of a great design, a website is close to being "offline" if it is not "plugged in" to multiple internet "sockets". This includes listing aggregators, search engines, social media and a collection of high authority websites and domains that link back to your website.

 

The PHARMED signature website allows you to "plug" into a huge collection of widgets and services such as HIPAA compliant forms, SEO functions, reporting, tracking and analytics, social media integration, Google my Business and listings integration, reviews management, digital dental advertising, chatbot, ADA, WCAG 2.1 & Section 508 compliant module, blog widget, fluid responsive design, online payments, online scheduling, dental patient portal, online store, disease awareness booklets and more.

 

Can I have all the above functions on my current website?

Yes. However, adding these functions on a PHARMED signature dermatology website will allow for:

  • Development within days compared to weeks.

  • Cost only a fraction of the standard industry price.

  • Higher quality compared to the industry standard.

  • Additional functions for your website and 24h support.

  • Unlimited updates to ensure that your website is always working smoothly.

 

Is there a favorable cost/benefit for moving my website to PHARMED?

There is a significant cost / benefit:

  • 80% of our dermatologists have reduced their website costs by up to 50%

  • 100% of our dermatologists said that the PHARMED website was better

 

How soon can I have my new website?

We aim to move your existing content and websites structure, optimize navigation and maintain the SEO equity within 1-2 weeks, depending on the size of your current website. There is no disruption of service.

HIPAA Compliance for dermatology practices

 

Why do I need HIPAA compliance on my dermatology website?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

HIPAA compliance is relevant to dermatology websites as your practice’s website requires digital procedures that allow for the safe transfer of sensitive data. If functions such as online scheduling, dental medical history forms, intake forms, insurance forms, and online payments are added to your website, they all must be HIPAA compliant. This will protect patient data and protect doctors from lawsuits.

 

What can I achieve with HIPAA compliant functions?

A HIPAA compliant dermatology website has the ability to:

  • Increase number of dermatology patient appointments: 40% of patients will book an appointment out of hours when your practice’s admin cannot respond over the phone. If your competition offers online scheduling, they may be getting these appointments rather than you.

  • Patients prefer it: 80% of patients state that they would change their dermatology provider based on increased convenience alone. (NRCHealth, 2019) and 43% of patients prefer to book appointments online. (Kyruus, 2020)

  • Reduce administrative burden: The average dermatology practice administrator spends 10 hours per week on booking appointments over the phone.

  • Reduce waiting room time: Collect data timely, i.e. COVID-19 questionnaire prior to booked appointments.

  • Reduce no-shows: Online appointment scheduling sends reminders to patients and offers rescheduling.

  • Increase efficiencies: Reduce paperwork and add "environmentally friendly" to your values and branding. Edit data and correct errors with ease.

  • Safely collect payment methods and signatures: Send invoices, collect payments on time, obtain and safely store signed agreements, wavers, insurance details, and release authorizations to others in a secure manner.

 

 

ADA Compliance

 

What is ADA and WCAG 2.0 compliance?

ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was signed into law by President George Bush in 1990, and it is America’s most important law regarding accessibility and civil rights for people with disabilities, including web accessibility.

At the moment, WCAG 2.0 is the best measure of web accessibility when it comes to federal law. WCAG stands for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. They are the most important guidelines for web accessibility policy and set the current standard for web accessibility legislation in most countries around the world.

 

Why is ADA compliance important for a dermatology practice?

In addition to being highly important for your patients with visual impairment you will:

 

Get Tax Credit for spending on ADA:

To claim these tax benefits, use IRS Form 8826, the Disabled Access Credit, and refer to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, Section 44. Tax credits are different than tax deductions. A deduction reduces taxable income and, therefore, the tax owed. Tax credits come later in the process — after tax has been calculated, a credit is subtracted outright from tax owed. The Disabled Access Credit is limited to small practices with gross receipts of one million dollars or less or that employ 30 or fewer people. Of course, being tax-related, it isn’t super simple. But it's not overly complicated, either. These are the terms for claiming the Disabled Access Credit: for expenditures more than $250, you can take a 50% credit up to $10,250 for a maximum credit of $5,000.


Avoid lawsuits:
The Department of Justice may file lawsuits in federal court to enforce ADA Compliance within your practice, and courts may order compensatory damages and back pay to remedy discrimination or non-compliance if the Department prevails. Under Title III, the Department of Justice may also obtain civil penalties of up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for any additional violation of ADA Compliance.

 

Do ADA lawsuits really happen?


ADA’s relevance to web accessibility isn’t just theoretical. Since 2017, the number of ADA Title III-related lawsuits increased immensely. In 2017, 816 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed, but in 2018 that number jumped to over 2,200 cases. That’s an increase of 180%: but this is only the tip of the iceberg. These numbers do not reveal the increasing number of ADA legal complaints and lawyers’ demand letters that were filed against businesses with non-accessible websites in the last few years. This is because they are never published into public record. Experts estimate that approximately 40,000 demand letters were sent in 2018, and in this number peaked2019 with over 100,000 demand letters sent, and over 10,000 lawsuits filed.

Online Scheduling for dermatology practices

Being added to your website as part of the PHARMED HIPAA compliant solutions, online scheduling for dermatology practices will ensure that the 40% of patients who are booking appointments out of hours can book an appointment with you. 

 

Chatbot

 

What is a Chatbot?

Chat bots let you instantly communicate with visitors when they visit your website. Chats can be started with anyone or visitors can initiate them when they're ready. You can also customize the look and feel of your chatbot: add online and offline chat hours, and even access messages from your desktop or mobile app.

                                                                                                                

Although chatbots can be very sophisticated and can automatically handle dermatology appointment bookings, and answer questions from patients, PHARMED advises against an overly complicated bot.

 

Healthcare communications must only be handled by licensed and authorized medical professionals in order to avoid miscommunication and the massive risks that this poses for dermatology patients.

 

We recommend a chatbot as a way to maintain patient interactions for simple tasks. For example, discussing appointment availability, confirming that certain dermatology services are offered, or re-directing visitors to other parts of your website where they can find information relevant to their questions.

 

Explore the PHARMED website chatbot to experience exactly what this feature can do for your dermatology website.

What happens when someone texts my dermatology practice through the Chatbot?

 

It is 100% configurable:

  • You may simply receive an email with patient details to follow up the following day.

  • You may receive a text message to which you can personally reply or pass on to your admin

  • The bot will send a customized automatic welcome email reply to the patient with information relevant to the services offered at your dermatology practice

 

Why do I need a Chatbot for my website?

  • Proactive communication: Respond to a website visitor via text the moment they end up on your page, even before they start a conversation with the chatbot.

  • Organise appointment booking: with over 70% of patients willing to use a chatbot you will be able to communicate and bring more dermatology patients to your practice.

  • Retain a website visitor: Chatbots are proven to minimize bounce rates through the power of conversation. They blend user input fields with relevant questions based on intelligent, natural conversations. Users will no longer be required to navigate text boxes and scroll-down menus.

  • Capture leads: Get the visitor’s email address to put them into contact with your dermatology practice through dermatology outreach campaigns.

 

 

Step 4: Patient Loyalty to your dermatology practice


Following a successful appointment comes patient retention. Your existing patients are constantly targeted by digital information which includes ads from your competitors. Apart from offering a distinct, memorable experience during their dermatology appointment, keeping in touch with them following their appointment is crucial.

Patient problem: ​Feel reassured that you will be there during their long journey as patients.

Your Solution: Keep in touch.

You will retain existing patients with:

  • Patient Outreach

  • Social Media Management

 

 

Patient Outreach

 

Why do I need an agency to send emails to my patients?

Sending an endless number of emails 4-5 times per month may significantly penalize your email deliverability because spam agencies will perceive it as ...spam. It is extremely important that you use a different IP address and domain name to send your email campaigns. PHARMED will ensure that your emails will appear as if they come from your usual email address, the replies will be delivered to your usual email address, all while your current domain and IP remains masked and unaffected.

There are several other reasons:

  • Email content is crafted by PHARMED doctors based on guidelines laid out by you and will be based on previously agreed upon subject matter.

  • Email send-out will be frequent enough to ensure recall and patient retention, without being perceived as spam.

  • Emails will be unique, relevant to the patients, and reflect your branding and personal character.

  • Email automations are set up to reduce admin workload.

 

What type of emails can I use for patient outreach?

Some forms of email outreach content used by our dermatologists are:

  • Weekly health newsletter

  • Promotional offers

  • Annual dermatology checkup reminders

  • Seasonal Greetings, birthday cards

 

Social Media Management

 

Why do I need Social Media presence for my dermatology practice?

Today, Social Media is where people are finding and spreading word-of-mouth referrals. Your patients and followers can share your posts with their followers, which offers you an organic way to advertise your brand and dermatology services to even more potential patients.

Are my patients really on social media?

Lets find out:

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General Considerations for choosing the best Dermatology Marketing agency: Monitor Performance

Important considerations when choosing any practice growth solutions. Regardless of the services you decide to apply for the growth of your practice, having continuous reporting, guidance and support is of paramount importance. PHARMED offers you all the tools and guidance you will need to own the process of your dermatology practice growth and evaluate your performance:

All PHARMED packages come with 

  • Free subscription to the PHARMED portal of Healthcare Excellence, the most advanced reporting system that you can access 24/7 and review your performance.

  • Free guides on all aspects of dermatology marketing. 

  • Continuous support: Requests for website updates are fulfilled within 24hr.

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