4 Tips for Marketing Healthcare Convenience
“We make it easy.” Those are the four magic words your potential patients want to hear. Yes, Malaysians are eager to catch up on care they had been putting off due to the pandemic. But now that travel is allowed, many (way more tantalizing) activities are vying for their time.
So let Malaysians know how convenient it is to take care of their health needs. Then they’ll have fewer reasons to put off the services they need or miss appointments.
Why is now the Time to Be Thinking About Healthcare Convenience?
The changing healthcare landscape is also driving the need for convenience. Offerings that are responsive to Malaysians’ needs and preferences can help your organization be responsive to:
Increased competition from retail clinics with on-demand care for common health concerns.
Unintended consequences of quarantine, such as exacerbation of mental health issues and work-from-home injuries.
Realities of cost-sharing, including patients who need ongoing treatments but have trouble paying out-of-pocket costs.
Inefficiencies in standard procedures, like sitting in a waiting room and filling out paperwork, that sour the patient experience.
4 Tips for Marketing Healthcare Convenience.
Here’s how you start winning over more patients:
1. Remind consumers of the benefits of seeking care from an integrated health system.
Retail clinics and a growing number of virtual specialty care vendors are alluring to Malaysians. Advantages of these vendors include:
No appointment necessary
Expanded hours
Accepted insurance
But what Malaysians miss out on with this approach is precisely what makes integrated systems awesome: Coordinated care from trusted specialists. Maybe patients can’t get an immediate appointment with the specialists but remind them of what they get by waiting. Across all marketing channels, highlight the expertise and advanced services you offer that are not available from retail providers:
Highly skilled specialists.
Sophisticated Imaging Technology.
Providers who work together to deliver whole-person care.
Injections for stubborn pain.
2. Highlight services that relieve the unintended health consequences of quarantine.
Marketing convenience means being responsive to Malaysians’ needs. And during COVID-19, many Malaysians’ care needs changed. They may be experiencing:
Depression or exacerbations in people who already have it.
Anxiety about life changes or going out in public again.
Wrist, neck or back strain due to at-home workspaces that were not ergonomically correct.
Sleep issues due to new routines or not enough activity.
Create content focusing on these issues including blogs, social media posts and detailed service line landing pages. This is also an excellent opportunity to explain the many ways patients can access your clinicians:
Virtual visits with a range of specialties.
After-hours care.
Walk-in specialty clinics, if available.
Patient portal messaging.
Same-day appointments.
3.Help consumers with high-out-of pockets costs.
High-deductible plans and other cost-sharing requirements pose a challenge for many Malaysians. They may avoid appointments out of concern they can’t pay the bill. And when patients delay care, they’re often sicker when they do go to the doctor. Treating more advanced illnesses can be more expensive for them than if they had gone to the doctor earlier.
How can you make healthcare convenient for patients with high out-of-pocket costs?
Emphasize the importance and availability of preventive care and that many insurance plans cover these services in full.
Make payment plan information available online so patients can learn about it discreetly. You may also wish to offer online access to patient financial services through a chat or message feature on your website.
Educate consumers about how to lower their costs. For example, share that seeing a PCP (Primary Care Physician) typically costs less than an urgent care visit
4. Use technology to improve the patient experience.
No one likes filling out paper forms or sitting in a waiting room. These activities became safety issues during the throes of the pandemic. Savvy organizations turned to technology to mitigate the risk. Apps and automation software made it possible to electronically collect patient information and hold their places in line while they waited in their cars.
If your organization is using this technology, market its benefits. Can patients avoid coming in 15 minutes early because paperwork is done online? Can they bypass the waiting room and receive a text when they’re ready to be seen? These small conveniences can greatly impact patient experience scores, so why not shine a spotlight on them?
Consumer Trends Influencing Healthcare Convenience.
Thanks to Lazada and other online marketplaces, consumers get questions answered, products ordered, bills paid and more online. These brands are helping Malaysians shop around and run errands virtually, saving precious time for other activities.
Malaysians want similar experiences in healthcare. Many would be happy to replace phone calls and office visits with online interactions whenever possible.
Consider this:
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80% of Malaysians who had a recent virtual visit were satisfied with the experience and are open to future telehealth encounters .
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More than half of millennials and Gen Xers would switch providers based on the ability to book appointments online .
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80% of Malaysians prefer to pay healthcare bills online .
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56% of patients say virtual waiting rooms are more efficient than traditional waiting rooms .
If you’re not marketing convenience, your healthcare organization could be missing out. Malaysians care deeply about clinical expertise and quality. But given a choice between comparable providers, the one that’s easiest to interact with is likely to get the appointment.
Marketing convenience can help your practice become consumers’ go-to option.
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