Diagnosis: Start a Doctor Blog. You're Overdue!

Photo Credit: patientcal.com

To answer your question, yes, it is time to start a doctor blog. Your skill and exemplary service to your patients are enough. But, enough is not enough. Regional medical markets have become extremely competitive. A colleague with an active social media and blog presence will, not may, will poach potential patients in your area due to their higher search ranking.

Patients are hungry for information and when they need it they don't pick up the phone. As a successful doctor you are the source they trust most, the source they trust to deliver unbiased information. By providing concise and true details about topics of interest you will be providing a valuable service to current and potential patients. Added to which media outlets are constantly trolling for reliable quotes and opinions. You never know when a blog post could go viral earning you a shot at a much wider audience.

Hot Button Topics Include:

• Healthcare reform (Unbiased or in defense of, make it straight forward and they will appreciate it)
• Nurse and doctor shortages (how staffing problems impact patients now and what may happen in the coming years)
• Medicare reimbursement
• Emerging health threats (For instance those due to vaccine-preventable illness or antibiotic resistant bacteria)
• Workplace wellness programs

You have the knowledge patients search for. If you don't have the time to write the blog yourself hire a ghostwriting blogger to interview you and write the article(s) on your behalf. It is your thoughts that matter not the fingers that type them.