Oct 21, 2024 | Dermatology Practice, Digital Pathology
Dermatology is an 8.9 billion dollar industry and is only continuing to grow, with more dermatology practices seemingly popping up each day. However, managing your own practice and providing up-to-date, exceptional care is time-consuming.
We’ve created a list of 11 tips requiring minimal time investment that you can use to differentiate yourself from the competition and create a thriving dermatology practice.
Tip 1: Enhance Your Online Presence
According to a Brightlocal survey, 98 percent of consumers used the internet to find information about local businesses. With so much traffic, you need to make your business stick out online so potential patients find your practice first. One way to do this is to create a professional, user-friendly website. A poorly designed website will cause potential patients to distrust your brand and take their business elsewhere.
Having a great website is important, but only if people are actually motivated to pay a visit. Invest in SEO (search engine optimization), the practice of making your website and business easier for search engines like Google to find and understand. Search engines won’t recommend your website or business if they don’t understand what you are or what you’re offering.
And don’t forget social media. Post regularly on popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This will get you in front of an audience that may not be actively seeking your services. Through social media, you’ll grow an audience of people interested in what you’re doing and willing to recommend you to friends and family. There are also great paid advertising opportunities through social media you’ll want to explore.
Tip 2: Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Word of mouth, signage, and other methods to let the world know about your business are still important, but 97 percent of people primarily learn about local businesses online. Your most important asset might just be your Google Business Profile. Google has the lion’s share (over 90 percent) of the search market and should be your main focus.
Be sure to fill out your profile completely. Add accurate business hours, holidays, contact information, and links. Don’t skimp on the images, either—listings with photos are twice as likely to appear reputable.
Reply to all your reviews, good or bad. This shows Google that you’re actively engaging with your patients, and it shows your patients that you value their feedback. Once you have your Google Business Profile completed and are actively managing it, you can branch out to other places where you can list your practice, like Yelp or Bing.
Tip 3: Invest in High-Quality Content Marketing
Content such as blogs, articles, videos, and infographics will help you establish yourself as an expert in all things dermatology. Content marketing is great because an initial investment can pay dividends. An article can be turned into a post for social media, an infographic, or a PR opportunity. Over time, these articles can bring thousands of visitors to your website each month.
Many local businesses don’t see the value in creating blog posts or articles since the customers they serve are strictly local. Visitors to a blog might be from all over the county and can’t become customers, but Google looks at link authority as a ranking factor for your local business. Visits and links to your website increase that authority. The more reputable your website, the more local eyes will be on your listing.
Marketing aside, having a library of resources can be a great benefit to your patients. You can use your articles to help patients understand their conditions and how to treat them. Write an article once (with periodic updates as needed) and reap the benefits for years to come.
Tip 4: Leverage Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to engage patients and keep them up to date about your practice. You’ll likely get their email address when they fill out new patient paperwork. Just make sure you include a disclaimer or an opt-out if you plan to send them marketing materials.
Consider sending a regular newsletter with updates, promotions, or educational content. A dermatologist might send a reminder to use sunscreen as summer approaches or let patients know of any patient referral programs they have running.
Tip 5: Offer Teledermatology Services
Whether it’s a work schedule, time constraint, or merely convenience, sometimes, people don’t want to go to the doctor in person. This is where offering teledermatology services can be beneficial. You’re also able to expand your patient pool with people who live too far to drive.
The tricky part of teledermatology and any telehealth service is providing a good experience for the patient. This requires a secure and user-friendly telehealth platform that works well for both doctors and patients. Even with a great platform, navigating electronics and internet connections can make it tricky to have a really good experience.
Tip 6: Foster Strong Patient Relationships
No one wants to feel like just another patient the doctor has to check off the list for the day. On busy days especially, it can be a real challenge to connect with your patients and work on developing those relationships. The good news is that the burden of building that relationship doesn’t have to rest solely on your shoulders as the provider. Use your team and make sure that each patient is having positive and friendly interactions with the members of your team.
Having competent staff at your practice is an essential part of success. Skilled medical staff and office personnel not only make your life easier, but they also make the patient experience better. Every dollar spent on staff training and development is a dollar well spent.
Investing in training and development also makes the staff feel more comfortable and confident when they encounter difficult situations. Helping your staff develop new knowledge and skills will also help them feel more fulfilled at work, generating a positive culture at your practice.
In addition to having meaningful patient interactions at the office, consider sending out thoughtful communications to your patients post-visit. Many offices send out requests for ratings, but how many send a text to check in with a patient with a challenging problem or complicated surgery, for example? Going the extra mile can help you become the only dermatologist they’ll trust with their health.
Tip 7: Network with Local Healthcare Providers
Building an online profile is important when it comes to building and expanding your practice, but many patients rely on referrals from their doctor when they need specialty care. The best way to see referrals from other doctors increase is to network with local healthcare providers. This can be done by calling directly and introducing yourself if you’re a relatively new practice.
Another great option is attending and participating in local health fairs and community events where you can meet a wide variety of other healthcare professionals as well as community members when you may need your services or know someone who does. When you start getting referrals from other doctors, make sure you communicate well with them, return results quickly, and make it a pleasure to work with you.
Tip 8: Utilize Patient Testimonials and Case Studies
Like with most businesses, prospective customers will rely on reviews and testimonials to gauge whether or not they want to do business somewhere. Leverage your positive reviews and testimonials to attract other patients. Display them on your website and social media as social proof of your expertise.
Encourage satisfied patients to leave positive reviews online, especially on your Google business profile. It can be slow to get started, but once you get in the habit, you’ll start to see a lot more patients leaving reviews. Remember to only ask patients for a review when they’ve had a positive experience.
There are lots of software solutions that can help you gather feedback and positive reviews.
Tip 9: Implement a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is more common for practices that focus on elective healthcare, but it can be successfully implemented in almost any kind of practice. The easiest way to start would be to offer a patient referral gift or bonus of some sort. This incentivizes current patients to share your practice with friends and family. If that friend or family member does become a patient, the referrer gets a gift card or something similar.
Share your referral program on your website and social media and mention it in person when patients come to your clinic. If you change up your gift or award fairly frequently, you’ll be able to more easily determine what kind of reward incentivizes your patients the most and if adding that cost onto the acquisition cost of new patients is worth it for your practice.
Tip 10: Stay Updated with Industry Trends
Healthcare is an ever-evolving industry, dermatology especially. Invest some of your time and energy in attending dermatology conferences and workshops. Become familiar with the latest technology and business practices while networking with others. Make sure you offer the latest treatments with the most impactful technologies where possible.
Tip 11: Ask Them!
At PathologyWatch, we want practices to not just like us but also love us as a partner. Our team regularly performs check-ins with dermatologists and staff to provide honest and open feedback on how we can improve their experience. This leads to many helpful improvements as we strive to offer a unique, exceptional service. Similarly, dermatologists can ask their patients to perform simple client satisfaction surveys, using a few pointed questions that patients can honestly answer without feeling critical.
Even if you choose just one tip to implement, the emphasis on continuous improvement will inspire you and your staff and provide opportunities for great patient experiences, which is one of the main reasons we chose dermatology as a specialty.
If you’re looking for a partner that is also interested in continuous improvement, consider partnering with PathologyWatch for all your digital dermatopathology needs.
Oct 11, 2024 | Dermatology Practice, Pathology Business
The client experience has become a buzzword in all businesses in the last few years. In medicine, the patient experience has become central to running a successful, profitable dermatology practice. And the pressures of offering superior care are high. When patients choose your clinic out of the many options available to them, they trust you to provide a comfortable and seamless experience that empowers them to engage and take charge of their own health and well-being.
As options for healthcare become increasingly more convenient for patients, patients prefer healthcare providers that promote personalized healthcare; they want to be recognized as individuals with unique desires and needs. For example, 92 percent of patients expect their healthcare providers to send them personalized reminders and messages.
Offering a human touch while providing streamlined, accessible digital support will be essential for dermatology practices to both retain and recruit new patients. Here are five ways to enhance the patient experience at your practice.
Offer Educational Resources for a Variety of Learning Styles
When 90 percent of all adults have at least some difficulty understanding medical information, it’s likely that many of your patients aren’t well versed in dermatology terminology—let alone dermatopathology. As a result, many of them may feel lost, confused, or scared when visiting your practice due to a lack of education concerning diagnosing and treating skin conditions.
Not only can education ease worries and help your patients relax into your practice, but it is also shown to improve outcomes and adherence. According to Clinics in Dermatology, those with low health literacy not only know less about how to care for their health, but they also “often report having a worse health status and are less likely to seek preventive care.” On the other hand, with education, patients are more likely to care for their health and follow recommended treatment plans.
Educational offerings personalized to the patient’s learning style are critical. Auditory learners can glean the most from verbal education you provide during the patient visit. Because the majority of people are visual learners, providing written materials is helpful, but especially patient photos and digital images like dermpath slides are even more important to help support your verbal teaching and instructions.
Colorful take-home educational brochures are appreciated and captivating. Younger clients will appreciate linked educational brochures (more green!), informational and how-to videos with live demonstrations on your website or social media feed, links to educational websites and recommended products, and other interactive web-based materials. By providing patients with in-depth information about what to expect, what diagnoses mean, and the importance of treatment in a variety of learning styles, you can better connect with your patients and provide educational tools personalized for the patient.
Define and Perfect Your Niche
Try acting as a secret shopper for your own practice. Would your practice stand out? What do you offer that other clinics don’t? As you examine your dermatology practice, take the time to not only perform competitive analysis but also consider new offerings or practice niches that inspire you and allow you to bring that excitement and energy to the patient experience.
For example, you may have a local family group with a rare dermatologic condition. This could become an area of interest for you, encouraging you to stay up to date with the most novel treatment conditions to help these patients. Look to offer new or unique services that your patients often request so they can receive continuity of care from you rather than going to another office. By finding new areas of focus, you will be motivated to participate in continuing medical education that will be useful, be at the cutting edge of diagnostic and treatment options for your patients, and show them that you care about meeting their needs.
Streamline the Diagnosis Process to Improve Turnaround Time
Your patients rely on you to provide them with a correct and timely diagnosis. According to the College of American Pathologists (CAP), a dermatopathology lab should require no more than 48 hours to diagnose standard cases. However, it’s not always easy to provide those quick results to your patients, especially when there are many variables that can increase turnaround time like inefficient processes, transportation, lab workflows, and report delivery issues.
All labs—including your clinic and associated dermatopathology laboratories—must exercise effective communication, have a written protocol in place, and foster a comprehensive understanding of how results are shared in order to improve patient care and expedite treatment. Open all lines of communication with your dermpath lab, stay in contact about the status of your cases, and be proactive. By developing all communication details and addressing factors that could impact diagnosis, you can improve turnaround time as well as your patients’ satisfaction.
Offer a Dedicated, Consistent Experience
As consumers, we enjoy frequenting places where we know we will get a consistently great client experience. Companies such as Apple, Starbucks, and others understand the importance of providing a superior experience every time. As cookie-cutter healthcare threatens to depersonalize the patient experience, patients increasingly appreciate being known and knowing what to expect at their appointments. This means not only offering personalized digital support to allow easy, streamlined touchpoints with your clinic—like online scheduling and messaging, digital pathology services, and automated text reminders—but also making yourself accessible to their questions both in and outside the office.
When patients visit your clinic, as another aspect to your secret shopper exercise, consider every step of their experience. Train your staff to communicate diagnoses effectively and kindly to patients, pay close attention to how you empower your patients to understand their health and well-being, and listen to their needs. For example, with PathologyWatch’s digital pathology, dermatologists can use digital slides as a visual tool to help teach the patient about their specific diagnosis and personal treatment plan and help answer their questions in a truly personal way. By taking the time to truly help your patients understand their diagnoses, you can ensure that they will feel not only more supported and understood but also well prepared to own their healthcare choices.
Invest in Partners That Also Provide Consistent, Excellent Service
Because many parts of the dermatology office require support from outside vendors, be sure to choose vendors who offer a similar customer experience as a client or colleague. When you have challenges or questions, you will also benefit from partners who will respond to your clinic’s specific needs and requests. Like many healthcare specialties, digital services have accelerated in dermatology, offering new opportunities for collaboration with patients and dermatopathology labs alike. With electronic medical record (EMR) technology, for example, it’s easier than ever to house patient information in an organized location and share it with other healthcare providers, insurance, and more. By investing in these digital technologies, you can not only stay ahead of the curve but also simplify patient processes and personalize experiences.
PathologyWatch, for example, enhances clinic flexibility by providing various reporting options, promoting a personal relationship between the consultant pathologist and the dermatologist, be more accessible for questions, and provide an intuitive digital interface where dermatologists and dermatopathologists can share valuable clinical information like medical history, visit notes, and clinical photos. Enabling automated and personal notifications for important results, providing definitive reports to help solidify treatment decisions, and building a great remote support team are some of the ways that PathologyWatch stands out from other pathology experiences.
Improving the patient experience is essential for the growth and success of any dermatology practice. By implementing these strategies—from offering personalized care to choosing supportive partners—you’ll not only meet your patient’s growing expectations but also stand out in a competitive field.
Aug 30, 2023 | Dermatology Practice, Pathology Business, Press Release
The leader in digital dermatopathology is recognized in the Health Services category of the prestigious list.
SALT LAKE CITY—August 15, 2023—Today, Inc. named PathologyWatch in the top 7 percent of America’s fastest-growing private companies on the annual Inc. 5000 list. This marks the first appearance on the list for the deep-learning AI company, which focuses on diagnostic and prognostic research for skin cancer.
Founded in 2017, PathologyWatch reached number 386 on the list of 5,000 companies for showcasing a remarkable 1500 percent growth from 2019 to 2022. This achievement makes PathologyWatch the list’s top-ranked health services company based in Utah.
“It’s an incredible honor to have PathologyWatch recognized alongside so many notable companies on the Inc. 500 list,” said Dan Lambert, CEO and cofounder of PathologyWatch. “This acknowledgment is a testament to the perseverance and principles of our entire organization, including AI engineers, dermatopathologists, lab technicians, sales and marketing team, clients and everyone in between. Together, we’ve been able to continue our commitment to combine state-of-the-art technology and clinical decision-making to deliver unprecedented patient care.”
The ongoing prevalence of skin cancer in the United States is a driver in the demand for PathologyWatch’s comprehensive digital dermatopathology solutions. There are over 5 million cases of skin cancer detected every year in America, killing more than two people every hour and making it the country’s most common type of cancer.
Lambert, a melanoma survivor, noted, “This Inc 500 recognition reinforces our mission to preserve and extend life for patients while reducing the cost of healthcare.”
“Running a business has only gotten harder since the end of the pandemic,” said Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. “To make the Inc. 5000 — with the fast growth that it requires — is truly an accomplishment. Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that are building our future.”
About PathologyWatch
PathologyWatch is the groundbreaking leader of digital dermatopathology services. Through these services, dermatology clinics, hospitals and laboratories can improve operational efficiency by speeding up workflow and enhancing patient outcomes by utilizing the PathologyWatch expert professional team and laboratory services. This can facilitate best-in-class reads and, in some cases, enable additional revenue to the practice by in-housing pathology. With an intuitive and easy-to-implement digital pathology solution that includes access to top-tier dermatopathologists and a streamlined clinical workflow that interfaces directly into the EMR, PathologyWatch brilliantly combines state-of-the-art technology and clinical decision-making to deliver unprecedented patient care.
May 3, 2023 | Dermatology Practice, Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY—May 1, 2023—PathologyWatch, a full-service digital dermatopathology solution, is recognizing May as Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month with a public awareness campaign of its own.
Many Americans are likely unaware of just how prevalent skin cancer is in the US. In conjunction with Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month, the Skin Cancer Foundation has released some sobering statistics about the disease:
- With over 5 million cases detected each year in the US, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer.
- More than two people die from skin cancer every hour in the US.
- More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the US than all other cancers combined.
- An estimated 7,990 people will die from melanoma in 2023 (5,420 men and 2,570 women).
- An estimated 186,680 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the US in 2023.
- One in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70.
“One other key statistic is that the five-year survival rate for melanoma, when it is detected early, is 99 percent,” said Dan Lambert, CEO of PathologyWatch. “That’s why, during the month of May and beyond, we are encouraging everyone to visit their physician or dermatologist and receive an examination. Our mission at PathologyWatch is to preserve and extend life for patients while reducing the cost of healthcare. Early detection is one way we’re working to achieve that goal.”
PathologyWatch uses cutting-edge technology to connect dermatologists with academic-level dermatopathologists in a workflow utilizing samples shared via digital slides. The full-system digital workflow not only optimizes efficiency but also saves physician time, reduces the burden on office staff, and can help clinics create previously untapped revenue streams.
The Utah-based company will be providing “Show Me Some Skin” T-shirts to dermatologists and dermatopathologists who participate in the upbeat awareness campaign. Dermatologists and dermpaths can receive their free T-shirt by simply registering to join the campaign.
“We feel this is a fun way for dermatologists to help get the word out this month about a serious health issue,” Lambert said. “The most important thing in the fight against skin cancer is for people to take the initiative to get tested. May offers the perfect opportunity to commit to that first step.”
About PathologyWatch
PathologyWatch is the groundbreaking leader of digital dermatopathology services. Through these services, dermatology clinics, hospitals and laboratories can improve operational efficiency by speeding up workflow and enhancing patient outcomes by utilizing the PathologyWatch expert professional team and laboratory services. This can facilitate best-in-class reads and, in some cases, enable additional revenue to the practice by in-housing pathology. With an intuitive and easy-to-implement digital pathology solution that includes access to top-tier dermatopathologists and a streamlined clinical workflow that interfaces directly into the EMR, PathologyWatch brilliantly combines state-of-the-art technology and clinical decision-making to deliver unprecedented patient care.
Apr 25, 2023 | Meet The Team, Pathology Business
PathologyWatch COO Scott Mattivi was honored this month with the Meritorious Achievement Award from Pittsburg State University. The award is the highest honor based on career achievement bestowed by the university’s alumni association.
Mattivi graduated from the university, located in Pittsburg, Kansas, with a bachelor of science degree in biology in 1985 before earning a degree in medical technology from the University of Kansas in 1987.
“No matter where your career path eventually takes you, I think most people retain a soft spot for their alma mater, and that’s certainly the case for me,” says Mattivi. “To be recognized by Pittsburg State is truly an honor. My lifelong interest in science and healthcare was fostered there, and my education and association with Pittsburg State have definitely served me well in my career.”
In May of 2022, Mattivi joined PathologyWatch, which specializes in working with dermatology practices to manage their pathology workflows using a digital model. Mattivi brings strategic leadership and operational oversight to PathologyWatch’s three laboratories, which are located in Salt Lake City, UT, Phoenix, AZ, and Port Charlotte, FL.
Before arriving at PathologyWatch, Mattivi was president of Eurofins-Viracor BioPharma Services, where he worked for more than 13 years. Previous to that, he served as a laboratory manager at Quest Diagnostics for 22 years. Mattivi has earned his Six Sigma Green Belt Certification to ensure the highest quality of processes and services and serves on five different boards in the healthcare industry.
Along the way, Mattivi started programs with clinical lab students at the University of Kansas and Wichita State University to perform molecular science rotations at Viracor. He has been an advocate in sharing the virtues of seeking a career in clinical laboratory sciences with students at multiple regional educational institutions.
In addition to his Pittsburg State award, Mattivi will be honored later this year by the alumni association at the University of Kansas, where he will be recognized on October 6–7 as a distinguished health professions alumnus.
