Travis oversees all aspects of strategy, sales, and business development at PatientPop

a Tebra company. Before co-founding the company, Travis co-founded and served as the CEO of ShopNation. He also co-founded and served as the CEO of StarBrand Media. Travis holds an Honors degree in Business and Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a two-time recipient of the KPMG Enterprise Entrepreneur Award.

"The front door of the practice has moved online and PatientPop is the leader in helping practices transition."

Travis Schneider

Reputation management is a crucial component for independent practices to thrive. An effective reputation management strategy will drive new patient acquisition and patient retention and strengthen patient-doctor relationships. It should be no surprise to learn that healthcare practices already using technology to engage with current and prospective patients are well-positioned to build connections and provide better care.

, three out of four people have searched online for a doctor, and more than 71 percent rely on online reviews when choosing a healthcare provider. Since healthcare consumers make most of their decisions in a digital world, our online reputation and digital footprint are often the first interaction a patient will have with your practice long before they ever step into your waiting room or call to make an appointment. Try following these steps to get discovered online through search engines and improve your odds of converting new online visitors into patients.

1. Claim and optimize your practice and business profiles across the web

Make it easy for patients to find you via search engines by claiming all available business profiles. There are dozens of websites and healthcare directories that provide local listings. Google, Yelp, WebMD, Healthgrades, and Facebook are a few, with Google being the most popular. Google business listings consistently own 

 for search. When claiming your profiles, it is important to ensure the information is up-to-date and consistent across all listings, including your location(s), hours, contact information, and website. In addition, be specific with your business categories and use commonly searched terms to help patients find you. For example, “foot surgeon” is better than a podiatrist, and “eye doctor” is better than an ophthalmologist.

To boost your visibility and bring your practice to life, add photos that spotlight your practice and the patient experience you provide. The more pictures you upload, the more opportunity you have to give prospective patients a peek into your office. To differentiate yourself from competitors, use your profile to share why patients choose your practice.

2. Leverage word-of-mouth marketing and use online reviews

The best marketing will always be word-mouth because consumers trust each other over what businesses say about themselves. Online reviews are the digital version of word-mouth marketing and improve your business reputation because positive reviews signal your practice is relevant and a real place. Moz says that, of the 83 factors that affect search, two of the top 20 are related to the volume of reviews your practice receives. So the more reviews your practice has, the better position will be in search results.

Our latest research shows that about 69 percent of patients will not consider a provider with an average rating below four. To start receiving more reviews and appealing to prospective patients, a digital approach to collecting online reviews will allow you to monitor feedback at a larger scale and efficiently manage the process. When implementing an automated online review strategy, consider the three factors that have the highest impact on your online reputation, including the total number of reviews, the frequency of reviews, and the average star rating. Sending automated patient satisfaction surveys via text or email soon after the appointment will increase the likelihood of receiving feedback and reviews consistently. Not only do reviews improve your online reputation for others to see, but reviews also provide insight for you into what is going well at your practice and areas you may need to focus on more. While most incoming reviews will likely be positive, if you do receive a negative review, you have an opportunity to make changes, re-engage with that patient, and regain trust.

3. Fully optimize your healthcare website

Having a mobile-first site is extremely important. According to 

, 62 percent of those surveyed use their mobile devices to gather health-related information, outranking online banking. Because of the increased usage of smartphones, Google focuses on mobile content for both indexing and ranking purposes. By providing the value on desktop and mobile devices, you can reach patients where they are and positively impact your rankings.

In addition to a mobile-first approach, your website should provide a pleasant experience and invite users to engage and interact with your practice. By delivering relevant content and new information about your services, visitors will spend more time on your site, leading to a higher conversion rate. Your website should also include strong keywords throughout the content, sticky calls-to-action to convert visitors into patients, SEO-friendly content pages, and lightning-fast speeds.

Your online reputation and website are crucial to your practice growth strategy in today's digital-first world and should be reviewed and updated regularly. There are multiple components to an effective method for building and maintaining your online reputation. Implementing the above strategies is a great start to taking control of your digital footprint and growing your practice.

Travis oversees all aspects of strategy, sales, and business development at PatientPop, a Tebra company. Before co-founding the company, Travis co-founded and served as the CEO of ShopNation. He also co-founded and served as the CEO of StarBrand Media. Travis holds an Honors degree in Business and Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a two-time recipient of the KPMG Enterprise Entrepreneur Award.

Articles

Maintaining your practice's online reputation can be a key to growth.

3 Ways to boost your practice’s online reputation

The Great Resignation still has momentum, presenting a complicated reality for every business. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record-high 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November, followed by a still notable 

. This growing movement hit the healthcare industry particularly hard, with 

 and social assistance workers quitting in December.

Within the past couple of years, providers and staff at medical practices have experienced added stresses and pain points. For example, with new COVID-19 protocols, medical practice team members often find themselves taking patient temperatures upon their arrival and administering and collecting screening questionnaires, all while continuing to answer a flurry of patient calls and e-mails amid short-staffed shifts.

Burnout itself can take many forms. For example, both practice owners and staff may feel a “depersonalization” of their day-to-day work, increasing the likelihood of errors and feelings of disconnectedness with the practice mission, leading to cold office experiences that prompt patients to leave negative reviews.

According to an AMA study, 61 percent of physicians across all specialties reported having experienced work-related burnout, a 

 compared to a pre-pandemic report. In addition, of the healthcare workers that left their job during the pandemic, 29 percent said that burnout and being overworked ranked as primary reasons they left their job during the pandemic.

How technology can help reduce burnout for providers and staff

While delegating tasks or spreading work among more people can help reduce stress, it’s not a necessary solution. Instead, specialized software programs and functions built for medical practices can alleviate the administrative burden and free up staff to engage in more enriching patient connections. Here are some of the more notable solutions:

24/7 Online appointment scheduling and billing tools - 

The key to removing unnecessary work from practice staff is to offer patients the opportunity to manage some processes online at their convenience. Online appointment scheduling gives patients 24/7 access to check available time slots and either book or request an appointment. Ideally, this is also the place for appointment change and cancellation requests. With 

63 percent of patients preferring this method

, your practice delivers the digital convenience patients demand while freeing your staff to focus on other higher-value elements of practice management.

Similarly, giving patients the option to make payments online reduces the hassle of paper invoices, can expedite payments and removes the time and hassle required to manage manual billing systems. Although most patients do not currently receive their medical bills electronically, our research shows that 

 Move your forms online rather than maintain a manual registration and intake process with a clipboard and pen. Staff members can avoid stacks of paperwork, and patients can complete forms before their appointment at their convenience. Practices can send links to intake forms via email or text link, preferably included with the patient’s automated appointment reminder. With forms completed ahead of time, you can reduce patients’ wait times, helping to improve patient satisfaction: our survey research shows that 60 percent of patients feel frustrated if their appointment wait times exceed 20 minutes.

HIPAA-compliant text messaging now makes it easier than ever to engage in direct conversations with new and current patients, using the most dominant method of communication today. Not only does this significantly reduce your staff’s time spent on phone calls, but it’s an accessible, secure way for patients to better connect with providers and staff. So whether they want to book an appointment or have health-related questions, patients are demanding text access to practices — and forward-thinking practices are offering it.

While feelings of burnout are nothing novel to the medical profession, the past few years have made it clear that practices’ priorities need to change. With the right technology and approach to practice management, practices stand a much better chance of improving staff morale and productivity.With these systems in place, your practice will also have more opportunities to attract and maintain new employees throughout the Great Resignation

Travis oversees all aspects of strategy, sales, and business development at PatientPop. Before co-founding the company, Travis co-founded and served as the CEO of ShopNation. He also co-founded and served as the CEO of StarBrand Media. Travis holds an Honors degree in Business and Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a two-time recipient of the KPMG Enterprise Entrepreneur Award.

The proper technological tools can help a practice survive the Great Resignation.

Technology Is crucial for staff retention

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, providers must be even more creative and resourceful when helping their patients. Telehealth represents a prime opportunity for physicians to do just this. Through telehealth, doctors can treat patients through synchronous audio-video telecommunications systems carried out from separate locations.

Telehealth usage has risen sharply during the pandemic and is unlikely to go away after it ends. Our 2021 Patient Perspective Survey found that roughly half of all patients participated in telehealth during 2020, increasing satisfaction levels as more people experience a virtual visit. Therefore, your practice should consider incorporating telehealth into your patient care plans if you haven’t already. Here is how to best implement telehealth to satisfy patient needs and further grow your practice.

Determine how to incorporate telehealth into your practice

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which governs Medicare policies and influences commercial plan protocols, has overhauled many pre-pandemic restrictions to make telehealth more attractive to patients and providers. Under revised CMS guidelines, practitioners can now bill for telehealth and be reimbursed as they would for an in-person visit. Eligible visit types include initial patient visits, ongoing healthcare management, and therapeutic procedures, including therapeutic exercise, neuromuscular reeducation, gait training, and ADL instruction.

Just because the CMS proposes new codes does not mean that Medicare is necessarily bound to all of them when reviewing and paying out claims in day-to-day practice.Supplemental or secondary insurance typically kicks in to cover what Medicare does not.However, CMS guidance often serves as an influential springboard for commercial healthcare insurance carriers to build off the CMS’s suggestions and cover more robust treatment options in their policies. Your practice's strategies for leveraging telehealth will depend on your specialty, patients, and your patient's insurance carrier policies. Collecting patient feedback — in person and via patient surveys — can help guide your practice toward the best ways to implement telehealth technology at your practice.

Physicians have to be careful when billing for telehealth services, as not all codes addressing electronically administered care can be sufficiently specific to the format of visits that take place via technology. . Codes 99441-99443, for example, cover telephone calls only.

Conducting telehealth visits with your patients is similar to holding live patient-provider meetings, albeit through encrypted, synchronous video-audio connections. Therefore, doctors can bill out telehealth as E&M or therapy treatment.

While you should always consult the updated CMS guides and commercial carrier telehealth policies for detailed information, you can consider the following options when billing for telehealth services:

If you are billing out an E&M visit, use codes 99202-99205 for new patients and 99212-99215 for established patients, along with POS 2 and modifier 95

.
The E&M code you use will depend on the duration of the treatment, the severity of the injury, and the complexity of the medical decision-making involved. Regardless, you will need to use place of service (POS) code 2 to indicate you are using telehealth, along with modifier 95 to show you conducted the treatment in real-time using a synchronous audio-video system. While using modifier 95 is optional when billing E&M visits, you should include it nonetheless due to varying carrier billing requirements.

If you are billing for telehealth-based therapy treatment, use the telehealth billing code appropriate for that therapy along with POS 11 and modifier 95

.
When billing for therapy treatment, your place of service code will need to reflect where the patient’s therapy would usually take place if held in person. Therefore, you will likely use POS 11 as it encompasses in-office treatments. Although modifier 95 is optional with E&M, carriers require this modifier with therapy entries.

If a carrier you bill does not acknowledge modifier 95, use modifier GT instead

. While uncommon, some commercial insurers may reject claims using modifier 95. If this is the case, use modifier GT instead to indicate you used interactive audio and video telecommunications to administer care.

Not all video- or audio-based treatments qualify for telehealth reimbursement. For example, insurers will not reimburse pre-taped videos and training programs since they do not involve interactive, synchronous two-way video and audio communication. Additionally, telehealth visits are subject to identical information and time recordkeeping requirements, utilization management policies, payment audit programs, and medical necessity requirements for face-to-face treatment.

How to optimize your practice for telehealth

While the HHS Office of Civil Rights’ (OCR) temporary telehealth guidelines are relatively open regarding the types of video-audio communication tools doctors can use, this will likely not be the case for post-pandemic requirements. To ensure utmost HIPAA compliance and security, physicians should work with HIPAA-compliant telehealth providers that can enter into HIPAA business associate agreements (BAAs). They should also carefully consider the technical capabilities of the video-audio platforms they choose. At a minimum, your telehealth platform should support the following:

HD two-way video communication for optimal picture quality and clear diagnosis of symptoms

Patient digital registration capabilities that allow for seamless and secure intake processes

Integrations with your existing practice management software for secure payments, document uploads, patient scheduling, and appointment reminders

From there, your practice must market and integrate your telehealth technology into your day-to-day services. Dedicated informational website pages, FAQ sections, blog posts, and email blasts can all help promote and define your telehealth services to patients and potential referral sources. Finally, as you determine the best ways to integrate the technology into your care plans, be sure to consult with other doctors and staff at your practice.

Travis Schneider, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of PatientPop, the industry’s most complete all-in-one practice growth platform is known for his revenue growth strategies and visionary leadership.

While most insurance plans now accommodate telehealth, you should still know how to bill it properly to avoid unpaid claims. 

How doctors can leverage telehealth to help their patients and their practices

It is essential to know your key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify areas for growth and determine where to make adjustments. KPIs are “any metric of measurement that illustrates the status or progress of a particular operation or effort.” These are important numbers to keep an eye on.

KPIs can reflect financial growth, patient acquisition and retention numbers for today’s private healthcare practices, and marketing gains for particular channels (such as the practice website) or campaigns. While other practices will identify success using some of the same metrics, it’s essential to choose the KPIs that matter most to your unique business and align with your specific goals. Regardless of which KPIs a practice selects, having 

 to track all of those relevant KPIs is a tremendous advantage.

Below are three prime KPIs that can help spell success for your practice.

Relying exclusively on new patient growth is short-sighted. Managing a well-run practice is also essential for good business; while operating an efficient practice can go far in reducing costs, practitioners should also measure that efficiency.

Evaluating the four operational KPIs below and 

 at your office can improve performance by saving staff time, reducing no-shows, and making it easy for patients to book or reschedule appointments. Consider the following measurements to help ensure your practice is a well-oiled, efficient machine:

Staffing metrics (patient-to-staff ratio and provider-to-staff ratio)

No-show rate/Number of missed appointments

Percentage of patients who don’t book follow-up appointments

Patient acquisition and retention metrics

In addition to maintaining your established patient base, the surest way to operate a thriving practice is by attracting new patients and making sure they keep coming back. With an eye on patient volume, lead conversion, new patients, and overall patient satisfaction, you can get a clear line of sight to how you're performing (and meeting growth goals) if you consider the following:

Total number of patients (year-over-year)

New patient appointments (by the total number, per location, or per-provider-per-month)

Number of return patient appointments per month

Percentage of website visitors who convert into a new patient appointment

Marketing metrics will help grow a practice

Most medical marketing strategies are designed to drive new patient volume. However, as detailed above, a keen eye on overall practice success also supports patient retention. Both require tracking the effectiveness and return on investment for your various marketing strategies. These five KPIs focus on marketing initiatives and help set the stage for growth:

Social media metrics (including the number of followers and number and type of engagements for each social media channel)

Website performance (page views, demographics, conversion rates)

Website traffic (including the number of new and returning visitors)

Patient review volume, frequency, and average star rating

How a practice growth platform can help improve KPIs

Consistent patient growth is a neon sign of a thriving healthcare practice, but the question remains: How do you get there? Once you decide which KPIs to track, you can create a 

 to record and monitor how you are tracking against your goals.

An easier and more insightful option is accessing a practice growth dashboard, an integral aspect of a practice growth platform. All critical metric information is collected and monitored in one easy-to-use platform—incoming patient leads, new patient conversion rates, website performance, search engine optimization (SEO), or online reputation insights. With this convenient access, healthcare practices can make smarter operational and marketing decisions. Remember, you're in the business of healing and healthcare—but you are running a business.

Properly employing key performance indicators can give your practice an edge over the competition.

Guide your practice to success using key performance indicators 

In today’s digital age, your medical practice no longer has the luxury of relying on word-of-mouth advertising to drive new business. Instead of trusted family, friends, or neighbors, Google has taken over as the chief authority on many aspects of life — including where to find the best local medical and dental practices.

Beyond optimizing your Google My Business profile to stand out across the variety of ways Google displays your practice information in searches, understanding the patient search journey is critical to get found and grow your practice.

 turn to the web to find a healthcare provider, and the “patient journey” has become a buzzword among healthcare executives and medical marketers. The patient 

 journey specifically refers to when, where, and how patients search for healthcare information online, and which factors drive their choices. Knowing the sequence of patient actions and preferences along the patient search journey can help guide you to attract more patients.

The patient online search journey most often begins with a question: Where is the nearest urgent care center? What is this rash on my hand? Who is the best OB/GYN downtown? Which local dentists offer cosmetic teeth whitening? Your practice must have a thorough understanding of what patients search for that is pertinent to your specialty, and what questions patients ask most often.

The most common searches include medical conditions, symptoms, procedures, and surgeries. When you have the answers to these questions on your practice website, the likelihood of a patient landing on your website increases during their initial search.

Not all prospective patients actively look for a healthcare provider initially, but you can have the answers to commonly asked questions available on your website, related to your procedures and treatments, or particular symptoms or health conditions. Some search examples may include: How to treat X?; What is Y procedure?; How long is recovery for Z?.

Even when prospective patients don’t search for a doctor in their queries, their search for information can still bring them to your website. Cater to the patient search journey and optimize your site by populating it with comprehensive information about the conditions you treat and the services you provide. Ideally, create at least one page for each service you offer.

When a patient finds your practice, they look closely at your online reputation and reviews from other patients. Healthcare practices with more online reviews, and with higher quality reviews, typically achieve better organic search result rankings. To improve the quantity and quality of your online reviews, consider sending automated patient satisfaction surveys to patients who’ve had a recent appointment. According to PatientPop research, patients who are asked for feedback are 2.3 times 

 to proactively submit an online review via popular review sites such as Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades.This tactic can help influence prospective patients to choose your practice.

When a patient visits your website, make a great first impression by highlighting your exceptional care and services, and the reputation of your providers. On each page, establish online authority for each service and align your website with the keywords that patients use during a search for information.

After you establish a favorable impression, offer an easy-to-navigate experience. When answering frequently asked questions from patients on your website, use the words and phrases they use — even if they’re not clinically correct. Patients are more likely to take action if your site offers an easy-to-navigate experience that includes online scheduling and click-to-call for mobile users.

To further capitalize on a provider-specific search, maintain a blog on your practice website to share timely insights and guidance. Also, keep patients engaged through regular social media posts, and claim and update your profiles on each healthcare directory website where your practice appears.

Once a prospective patient has done their initial research, they will evaluate options and then make a final decision on their choice of practice and provider. Evaluation steps might include a check to see which providers are covered by their insurance plan and in-network. When prospective patients land on your site through an insurance plan directory, engage them and prevent them from going elsewhere by offering doctor bios (consider video), patient testimonials and reviews, and a comprehensive overview of your services.

To bring the prospective patient to your practice, your call to action (CTA) for appointment scheduling should be readily available and easy to find and navigate. In 2019 research from Accenture, 68 percent of patients said they are more likely to choose providers who offer the ability to book, change, or cancel appointments online. Make appointment scheduling simple and the follow-up accommodating.

Once booked, offer your newly acquired patients digital tools including automated appointment reminders, text messaging with your practice, and telehealth options when appropriate. . Responding to the digital preferences of your patients will prevent appointment no-shows and demonstrate your commitment to patient convenience.

Now that you know the sequence of patient actions and preferences, your well-planned tactics will help patients make the best decisions for their healthcare and put your practice at the forefront of their options.

Patients are relying more and more on technology when choosing a physician.

4 Critical steps patients take when looking for a doctor 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, government-mandated shutdowns and anxiety over virus variants have disrupted how medical practices operate day-to-day. For example, in a March 2021 PatientPop survey, 55% of patients reported missing or canceling their healthcare appointments due to the pandemic. While federal agencies and state governments have a better grasp of the pandemic than in 2020, the nation is still navigating healthcare delivery amid new and ever-changing conditions. So naturally, doctors must adapt to accommodate this “new normal.”

While the pandemic may influence how patients follow through with care plans, doctors are exploring different strategies to treat patients outside their physical offices. Patients are gravitating toward providers who embrace flexible online care and interactions. McKinsey, for example, found that 

40-60% of consumers would consider “digital front door”

 solutions and other broad virtual health offerings.

Despite the pandemic’s challenges, physicians can use the Internet to their advantage in satisfying patients and growing their practices. Here are ways doctors can leverage virtual practice-building tools to manage their businesses and help their patients.

Building a successful practice online requires adopting a data-driven mindset. 

 found that organizations in the top third of their industries using data-driven decision-making were 5% more productive and 6% more profitable on average than their competitors.

Physicians can use the data they collect from website analytics programs, patient review platforms, and patient intake software to determine opportunities and adjustments that best position them for practice growth. For example, a dedicated practice growth dashboard can help practices track the appointment scheduling process—visits booked via phone, online, text message—to identify which strategies are working and which should change. Doctors and practice owners can also use a dashboard to gather actionable insights for improving reviews, website traffic, and SEO performance.

Doctors can also implement access to online healthcare and registration, giving patients the convenience to book appointments and access clinical information digitally. Not only can this satisfy your current patient base, but making these capabilities available can be an excellent strategy for attracting new patients. As 

, patients today prefer digital access to see their healthcare records, track their healthcare progress, verify information accuracy, and review treatment recommendations. Patients can also use digital access to seamlessly and securely check-in online, upload insurance and intake documents, share medical information, and confirm other appointment-related matters.

Leverage Patient Insights and Accommodate Your Patients’ Needs

Do not forget about your offline patient experience as you make improvements online. Knowing your patients offers a trove of insights for fueling your growth initiatives. As you treat your patients, pay attention to common trends and questions that pop up during your appointments.

Are most patients presenting common problems? What questions are they asking most often? Are they struggling to find providers for issues related to their symptoms? These insights can inform how you update your website pages, emphasize services offerings, and craft patient feedback surveys.

The pandemic has also encouraged patients, in large numbers, to take part in telehealth when appropriate. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced nearly 

 occurred during the pandemic. Offering telehealth as a treatment option can help your practice accommodate high-risk individuals, conduct visits to determine whether an in-person appointment is needed, and manage ongoing treatment, especially for chronic care patients.

Although updated CMS guidance has made telehealth more viable for doctors and more accessible for patients, be sure to review applicable policies before deciding how to incorporate telehealth treatments into your patient care plans.

Of course, you will need to market your services the right way to maximize your telehealth and complementary treatment options. Using reputable email marketing programs can segment patient emails and deliver targeted messaging that resonates with patients and their care goals.

Virtual practice building can save a facility battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.