Online Engagement to Grow Your Medical Practice

Dr. Hopkins: Welcome to Prescriptions for Your Practice, a podcast by Doctors for Doctors. Here we delve into game-changing approaches in patient care and practice management and well-being, brought to you by Hill Physicians Medical Group. I’m Dr. Tom Hopkins, Independent Physician, and your host on this unique journey. And I’d like to invite who’s here today and just welcome Dr. Kamra to Prescriptions for Your Practice. Welcome.

Dr. Kamra: Thank you so much Dr. Hopkins for having me. This is our episode number two.

Dr. Hopkins: Absolutely. And we’re going to talk about something very important. As you know, we’ve had a great response with our first one. This one’s going to be on building your practice. So we’re going to talk about that.

Dr. Kamra: That is amazing.

Dr. Hopkins: Okay, remind people who’ve never turned into this what you do.

Dr. Kamra: Right. So I am an internal medicine physician. I’ve been practicing since 2006. And really, you know, when I started out, my wife was super scared and she was sending my CVs to all the organizations of Kaiser, you know, Sutter. And then how is he going to do it? How are you going to do it? I was like man I’m going to do it. Okay. Just take it easy and trust me the process and I will do it. And so I’ve been in practice since 2006. What is it now? 18 years now or no?

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah, something like that.

Dr. Kamra: Yeah, 18 years. Actually that’s correct because I started in April. So almost you know, and March. And if you look at my corporation it was incorporated in April of 2006. So yeah I haven’t failed so far. I’ve been doing good. And you know it’s a journey.

Dr. Hopkins: Okay. You know we just build on kind of what we’ve been talking about before is like you know you’re starting whether you’re starting a new practice or you’ve been in practice for a while and you want to kind of build your practice we’re really going to have this focus today about how to doing that in a digital world. What tools do you use? So if you were looking at someone who was just trying to start out what would you tell them about social media and a digital presence? What would you tell them to do?

Dr. Kamra: You know back when we started there was no social media. So you have to go to the ER you have to go to the urgent care you know drop in your cars you know get some hospital help and stuff. But right now you have a direct approach to the patients using social media using digital you know advertising. So I think that’s a must right? So you got to have a good website and you got to have advertising on Google search using Google you know algorithms and search engine optimization along with Facebook. You know people use LinkedIn also. I don’t know whether that’s as useful in this regard but Facebook you know some people have done TikTok as well. But Facebook Instagram are going to be and yeah you know are going to be the bread you know bread and butter for the getting to know the patients.

Dr. Hopkins: You know when I Google a doc and I just learned this recently that you know if you Google some of our docs even our colleagues that are in a hill with us that a lot of people there’s a little button on the Google it says website. Apparently a lot of folks don’t have a website.

Dr. Kamra: That is true. You know it may be more true for the older generation than newer but I think you know as you also know right the independent practice organizations are also not very common right? The people the docs going into independent practice are less. So it’s even more important for them to be you know out there present. So a website is very important of course and you know you don’t have to have a fancy website right? You just have like three pages about yourself about what you do and you know how to contact you. You know so if you and the services you offer so it’s not very expensive to have it but it is very important to have it.

Dr. Hopkins: You know I remember way back when when I first did my website and how it’s really grown. I think the first time I went into practice independent practice I had a website someone did it. I paid a lot of money for almost like two pages. But over time I realized that that was really a static website. Tell me how moving for today 2024 the website. I’ve looked at where it’d be more dynamic. Tell me what that would look like a more dynamic website.

Dr. Kamra: Well I mean what from what I know you know in terms of dynamic website you have to have constant information flowing into your website. So that could mean a blog you could do a blog to engage the patients. You could put with patients permission you know some pictures of the patients and their surveys etc. You should definitely do that with of course with patients permission. Ongoing update of the practice staff I think that’s very important. People have a really dead website it’s a website that’s not very lively. So you need to have some flash and all that stuff in there. HTML5 I think that’s very important.

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah. And I think what’s important too and I go and get your opinion on this you alluded to it is like keeping an update. Your website’s an opportunity to tell your story. I found that some of the websites that are really well done have really it’s an outward face of the practice to tell patients what you’re all about. How did you did you create that on your own or did you get somebody else to create that to do what you do on your website?

Dr. Kamra: Well I used a company for that and of course I could not do that on my own. Although now there are AI agents you know who can create a website for you. But yeah I use the company and they take feedback. How do you want to do it? Do you have the colors of the practice and colors that match your office to the website? So that kind of thing you know I think it’s important to use a professional help in that.

Dr. Hopkins: Do you have on your website I know the folks that I know who do have websites that are very dynamic do you have any links to all of the other things that you may be doing social media Instagram or Facebook you know and have a presence of a blog do you have that connected?

Dr. Kamra: Yes you do.

Dr. Hopkins: And what value of that?

Dr. Kamra: Well I mean I think that’s a live website right? So that creates you know constant back and forth flow into the website and onto the website.

Dr. Hopkins: And I think that what do you think would as people make a comment and say well you know you have to kind of do it because the world expects you to have that especially when you look at our populations of patients that are younger they want that online social media presence. What do you say about that?

Dr. Kamra: Certainly you have to have that. So you know a blog is important to have because you can create links in the blog to a diet or to the recipe or to you know ACP website or American Health Association website so Heart Association. So I think that’s very important because a lot of people they’re looking for information but they cannot find it. They don’t trust whatever is in Google search right? So if you have it if it is a trusted source giving them that information I think that’s important and very helpful.

Dr. Hopkins: Right. And it’s interesting when you look at the website also I think it’s important and I learned of this in my practice was also having the patients understand who I’m affiliated with. So putting some of my strategic partners on my website. And at one time I think not only did I know that there weren’t a lot of physicians who didn’t have a website but even on their website there wasn’t even a presence of who they’re affiliated with the old physicians. So speak to that.

Dr. Kamra: Right. And actually that’s a very good point which I do not have right now and I’m going to do that. It has been in my mind to put a link to say Hill or Sutter or Blue Shield Blue Cross all those links are input. That way they know that okay yeah this doctor accepts our insurance.

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah. What about to think as we fear sometimes a patient’s patient coming in with their laundry list for the people who googled what they thought they have do you have any links on your website a link to patient resources where they have a link to go to WebMD? Do you have anything like that on your website?

Dr. Kamra: You know I do not have it right now. I’ve thought about this before but you know with the COVID you know there was so much misinformation out there and people were not trusting them even the CDC website. So I chose not to do that but it’s definitely a good thing to have you know I think majority of the times.

Dr. Hopkins: What would you say to someone who let’s you know we’ve been in practice for a while and you know social media has evolved it continues to evolve. And a lot of docs who’ve been in practice as long as we have say they want to stay away from it. But what about the new person? What would you say to the new person that’s coming on joining Hill and they you know they’re trying to figure out how to market themselves brand themselves? What would you how would you guide them to social media? What would you tell them to start?

Dr. Kamra: I mean you have to have of course on the three four websites right? The Facebook the Yelp definitely. Facebook not as much. I think but I think Yelp is very important. Also I think I would advise them to utilize the hospital resources. So you’ve got you know if you have a hospital clinical liaison who can take you to say the ER urgent care meet with the specialists because specialists get a lot of patients who do not have primary care doctors. And they can also help you in building up your practice. But of course you know search engine optimization is very important because on Facebook usually people are not looking for a doctor right? They’re looking for a doctor on Google. So that’s a specifically for a person who is brand new who is not established. So I think if you want to rank these sites I think Google is the most important.

Dr. Hopkins: Right. What would you say another thing about if you’re building your practice whether you want to grow your practice or you’re starting from scratch what about using social media? And I mean there’s various ways to do it but mainly through your website of booking patients appointments. Do you have a on your website a platform where they can call or book directly to your office?

Dr. Kamra: So we do have a mechanism for that although they cannot book appointments and on the but they can send other requests to book the appointment. And also this is just a deficiency of the electronic medical record because they don’t really interface with the appointment schedule. So we do get a text and the text is coming to the front desk. So we have instructed the front desk to call the patient right away. So I think that’s important to have that sort of a mechanism where the patients can reach you and communicate with you about the website.

Dr. Hopkins: Do you find it to be useful for?

Dr. Kamra: Just to you know we’re the more we advertise or promote our practices as you grow you can also be overwhelmed with people just calling your office that really can’t see you. Do you have on your website or see any value about having a list of those plans health plans that you actually accept?

Dr. Hopkins: I think that’s very yeah that’s a very good point.

Dr. Kamra: And so you do you have that.

Dr. Hopkins: I don’t have that.

Dr. Kamra: So that’s what I was telling you earlier that you know like I should have that.

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah I found that to be useful as well because it decreased the burden of people calling up and asking if I had a contract. And although I will tell you that you know the insurance market has changed quite a bit. We have a lot of medical advantage plans that have popped up. So it’s kind of a little hard to keep up with those.

Dr. Kamra: Yeah.

Dr. Hopkins: So yeah but it is good to have.

Dr. Kamra: Yeah I found that to be the case. I think that is the issue is it’s always evolving right?

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah.

Dr. Kamra: It changes. So looking at that and saying what you know I think you know I think you know your website tries to tell patients who you are that picture of who you are. Anything else that you in this topic of building your practice and really from a digital realm that you think it comes to mind that you think is very important to share?

Dr. Hopkins: Well in terms of building the practice be responsive and be available. I think that’s the most important thing for an independent doctor. Be available be responsive and never say no you know I think that’s very important. Initially I mean later on maybe you can be a little picky you know picky and choosy. So but right now initially if you are really building up your practice be available.

Dr. Kamra: Yeah.

Dr. Hopkins: I think that’s very important. And physical presence is important.

Dr. Kamra: Yeah.

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah. So as we kind of wrap up here on just some key points things that kind of resonated with me and building your practice. One I think about you know just on the digital age is really having a website it’s rising to me as we’ve been discussing that the number of physicians that do not have a website they don’t even have they have a base maybe some that do have a very basic one that really has been outdated. And one more thing I was going to add quickly is to have a telehealth presence.

Dr. Kamra: True.

Dr. Hopkins: You know good point. That’s very important. Have you on the website mentioned that you do telehealth.

Dr. Kamra: Right.

Dr. Hopkins: Do you have that’s a good way to flip that back to you. Do you have where people can even book telehealth? I know about appointments but do you have any direct mechanism? Because I’ve heard people doing that as well.

Dr. Kamra: We don’t have a direct mechanism. So you know but they have an appointment first but we can do a tele appointment.

Dr. Hopkins: Yeah. And of course I think we’ve touched upon as well is a services right? Your website dictates all these different services and putting telehealth in there. So that’s a that’s a good one to know. So you know if you’re building your practice from a digital realm you know it’s being you said being responsible and current and accurate updating it. And even what we’ve talked about before having somebody else whether you engage someone else who is ongoing management of that or you kind of internalize that and have somebody else do it. Any other party any thoughts?

Dr. Kamra: No just good luck.

Dr. Hopkins: All right. Great. Great. Well I just want to thank you for being here on prescriptions for your practice. Dr. Kamra it’s been a pleasure having you here. And I just want to tell everybody we look forward to you tuning in again on prescriptions for your practice. Thank you.