What Patients Want: Applying Survey Results to Enhance Specialty Care
COVID-19 has turned healthcare upside down—and practices which offer specialty care have been no exception. Many patients who normally maintain routine healthcare schedules to treat chronic conditions have put a hold on visits to their doctors within this era of the pandemic. Decisions to do so have placed them at increased risk in terms of their health and created financial challenges for the specialty offices which care for them.
A Comprehensive Survey for the COVID-19 Era
At AMG Healthcare Marketing, we’re aware of the many mixed messages related to the healthcare environment, and knew healthcare providers would benefit from deeper insights into what patients want and need to take care of themselves and their families during these unique and difficult times.
As a result, we recently asked 415 Alabama patients about their sentiments, beliefs, and behaviors related to primary and specialty care. Our survey covered a wide array of categories that included:
- Patient information and communication with practices
- Making appointments and telemedicine
- Changing doctors and specialists
- Propensity and timing regarding seeking new specialists
- Factors in choosing one doctor or specialist over another
- Advertising seen by patient prospects
Key Takeaways
The robust feedback from patients allowed us to discover a number of key takeaways that specialty care providers can apply right away—including the following three:
- Don’t take patients for granted. Although survey results indicated that most patients aren’t necessarily interested in changing specialists, they might consider doing just that if you don’t provide what they want and need.
- Make your expertise known. Helping new patients find their way to your front door is all about communicating your expertise. This is true in the context of referrals made from other healthcare providers, from a patient’s family and friends and as the differentiating factor among providers found online.
- Digital is number one. A lot of people are searching online to find the healthcare providers they need. Although they may be highly influenced by recommendations from others, survey responses indicate prospects are still searching for new doctors on their own.
These are only a few of the key takeaways that can be found in our recently published whitepaper, which also provides detailed survey responses and specific steps that practice owners, managers and marketers can take to optimize their efforts. By doing so, patient needs can be met in a way that enhances patient care and sustains practice growth within these challenging times.
Want deeper insights into what patients need from their specialty care providers? Download our whitepaper to learn more.
At AMG Healthcare Marketing, we’re the experts when it comes to understanding patient needs and helping you effectively communicate how your practice can meet them. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your practice, let’s talk.