Dear Imaging Center Insider,
Direct marketing to patients has paid off handsomely for the pharmaceutical industry and, to a lesser extent, for some medical specialties such as plastic surgery, cardiology, and orthopedics. But what about radiology practices? According to Leslie Farnsworth, most of the time direct patient marketing just doesn't make sense.
Farnsworth, who is president and chief executive officer of Houston-based healthcare communications firm FrogDog Communications, holds that a practice would have to spend an incredible amount of time and money educating patients about radiology. She believes these resources are better spent on marketing the advantages of a practice to referring physicians, who at least have a fundamental understanding of what radiology is.
With that caveat in mind, there are times when a practice will want to consider direct patient marketing. Usually this is when a radiologic procedure, such as CT calcium scoring, has become a subject covered in the local or national media. Or the practice may have a new cutting-edge product to debut in its market space.
If you'd like to find out more about when and how your radiology group should market directly to patients, click here. As an AuntMinnie.com Imaging Center Insider, you have access to the article days before the rest of our members.
Finally, if you have a comment or report to share about any aspect of diagnostic imaging practice, management, administration, regulation, or financing, please contact me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
