The field of dermatology is a fast-growing field, and it’s expected to continue to grow in the next few years. As an aging population continues to look for cosmetic interventions that keep them looking youthful and the occurrence of skin cancer continues to rise, the field of dermatology continues to see a rise in demand. While private dermatology practices have the ability to be very profitable, careful planning and good management are needed to ensure success, growth, and profitability. If you’re looking for ways to grow your practice and increase revenue, here are a few strategies for marketing dermatology practice which you can implement today.
1. Determine the Services You Want to Offer with Your Local Market in Mind
If you want to grow your dermatology practice, determine the services you want to offer, and you need to keep your local market in mind when you do so. General dermatology is usually the bread and butter for private practices because it’s essential to building a good patient base. However, it’s procedures you offer that bring in the most revenue for your practice. Since procedures come with the best reimbursement rates, it’s important to make sure you have a good referral base so you bring in more opportunities to perform the procedures you offer to patients. Mohs surgeons and aesthetics services can be a huge draw in certain markets, and aesthetic services are performed on a concierge or cash basis, which helps you avoid making your practice entirely dependent on reimbursements from various insurance companies.
2. Talk to Media to Establish Yourself as an Expert
According to New York Times best-selling author and director of cosmetic dermatology at the University of Miami, Dr. Leslie Baumann, talking to local media and establishing yourself as an expert in your local market is also important. Instead of advertising, focusing on public relations is a good strategy for bringing in patients. According to Baumann, patients are more likely to make appointments with dermatologists who have been quoted in articles than they are to book with a doctor seen in an advertisement. Doing interviews with media, such as television, magazines, and newspapers can get your practice’s name out there into the community and regular media exposure can pay off big time.
3. Focus on a Positive Patient Experience
Word of mouth marketing continues to be the best type of marketing, with 84% of consumers saying that they trust recommendations that come from friends, colleagues, and family members. To harness the power of word of mouth marketing, it’s important to make sure you focus on a positive patient experience at your dermatology practice. You want to make sure that your patients are satisfied so they’ll recommend you to friends, family members, and colleagues.
Download: Dermatology Practice Turn Around Case Study
One of the best ways to provide patients with a positive experience is to respect your patients’ time, working hard to avoid patients wait in your office. Book appointments and procedures accordingly to ensure patients don’t spend too much time waiting. Make sure your staff members are well-trained and friendly, ensuring that everyone works together to give patients a great experience in the office. Do patient surveys and allow patients to give feedback so patients feel heard and you know where you can make improvements to improve their experience.
4. Take Your Practice to Social Media
One of the best ways to take word of mouth marketing to the next level is to take your practice to social media. Social media platforms have become some of the most powerful marketing tools today because they combine technology and word of mouth marketing. Sites like Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, and Instagram are all great platforms that can help you spread your message, interact with patients, and bring in new patients.
With multiple social media platforms available, it’s important to focus on just one or two that work best for your dermatology practice. When you use social media, remember that your main goal is to connect, interact, and develop relationships with patients and prospective patients.
Of course, when you take your dermatology practice to social media, there are a few pitfalls you need to avoid, including:
- Be sure to protect your patients and practice against any HIPAA violations when using social media
- Avoid giving specific medical advice on your social media accounts
- Don’t acknowledge that there is a patient-physical relationship, since it can create a HIPAA issue
- Avoid blurring your personal and professional profiles
5. Consider Outsourcing Medical Billing and Coding to Improve Revenue
Making sure that claims get paid promptly and that you get the full reimbursement for your services is important if you want to grow your practice and increase revenue. However, billing and coding can become a big problem for private dermatology practices that don’t have qualified billing and coding specialists in place. Dedicating office space to a billing department, dealing with getting behind if your billing and coding specialists are off work, and dealing with denials if your staff members make mistakes can be very costly. For this reason, outsourcing your dermatology practice’s billing and coding can be a smart move that can save you money and increase your practice’s revenue.
When you work with a medical billing and coding company, you can be sure they are experts in the industry, so you’ll immediately have your billing and coding taken care of by experts. Outsourcing can also save you time, which is one of your most valuable assets when you’re running your own private practice.
If you want to let an expert take over your marketing or revenue cycle management (RCM) needs, M-Scribe specializes in offering these services, saving your dermatology practice time, space, and money. Contact M-Scribe today by calling 770-666-0470 to learn more about how we can help with your requirements.
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