Find a Doctor tools are commonly used by consumers, physicians, and academics across healthcare provider and payer websites. As a key part of a conversion funnel they assist with patient acquisition and retention, and therefore remain a high priority for every healthcare website. Despite this high prioritization, many healthcare providers and payers are still getting it wrong with 81% of patients saying tools for searching for a medical specialist needs improvement according to a survey from NTT Data Services.
Making enhancements to this website area can result in significant increase in digital channel performance across Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as well as allow for greater return on investment (ROI) results that can be identified through marketing attribution for the Find a Doctor tool. There are several common challenges that we frequently come across in the healthcare industry where physician information within the Find a Doctor tool is insufficient in helping consumers make decisions and assist them in converting into patients. Consumers want information on whether the physician is in-network for their health insurance, convenient locations, physician reputation reviews, personality/bedside manner insights to name a few which were uncovered from a recent Deloitte Healthcare Consumer survey.
Below we share a number of best practices for you to adopt in redesigning the Find a Doctor tool to ensure it meets users needs and creates a satisfactory digital experience that converts.
- Physician photographs – ensure there is a professional photo for each physician listed.
- Insurance information – display the insurances accepted by the provider to reduce frustrations and friction points in the experience.
- Star ratings and reviews – physician profiles need to offer valuable insights that impact users in their decision making. Reputation information in the form of reviews is frequently sought after and can offer a real added bonus to the digital experience.
- Conditions information – highlight the conditions the physician treats for quick reference for consumers to validate this is the right physician for them.
- Care philosophy – a small introduction paragraph from a physician can offer insights into their personality and care philosophy to assist consumers in making a decision as to whether the physician aligns with what they are looking for.
- Education and board certifications – list education and board certifications to validate expertise.
- Location information – if a physician see’s patients at multiple locations, list all locations. Provide address details, click to call telephone numbers and a map with the location(s) pinned so consumers can determine proximity to where they are from.
- Procedure/Treatment information – offering this information can support decision making and reduce the need to contact the doctor’s office to validate.
- Online appointment scheduling – if you have this technology available be sure to showcase it on the physician profile page for those that accept online appointment scheduling offering convenience to users.
Having a comprehensive Find a Doctor digital experience that includes relevant content for each of the best practices listed above will ensure consumers have access to all the information they need to make a decision. Once well informed, consumer will be able to make an appointment and convert to a new patient.
As Find a Doctor tools can be complex and with several types of users it can come with challenges that in how to create a satisfactory experience, I will be exploring further topics associated to this tool and sharing additional best practices. My upcoming posts will include:
- Find a Doctor Tool: Best Practices for An Enhanced User Experience Through Search & Filtering Results
- Find a Doctor Tool: Best Practices to Be Easily Found Via Search Engine Results Page, Marketing Efforts, Flagship Website & Mobile App
I would love to hear your feedback on any questions you have regarding this class Find a Doctor tool series and any additional Find a Doctor information that you like would like to see coming up.
