Atlantic Health Solutions, like many companies, has recently come around to the reality that social media drive business these days. So the Tampa-based company has announced it will focus on social media at the corporate and center level, on re-branding and improvement at its facility level and a new dedication to forming relationships with physicians, as part of its 2012 incentives, according to a company press release.
The company has already seen the value of adding social media to its marketing solutions, according to the press release, in terms of “improved patient volume at (its) diagnostic imaging centers across the country.” Atlantic Health Solutions has also seen its involvement increase with sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, to keep up with the "patient experience," a trend it sees as inducing “more of a physician persona in online media.” The press release notes that patients’ interest in staying on top of their own healthcare online has sparked the need for many companies to get online with them.
To satisfy patients better, the company’s Advanced Imaging Center in Lake County Florida and Compass Imaging in Gulfport, Mississippi are “expediting the processes of services and providing more accommodating payment options, which has led to increased patient volume and higher collections,” according to the press release.
The company’s use of experienced marketing representatives with explicit backgrounds in the field of health care is also helping with physician outreach. By creating meaningful relationships and connecting specialists in an area with various referral sources, Atlantic Health Solutions combats the trend of self-referral in cases where it would be detrimental and eliminates the commoditization of diagnostic imaging,” the press release reports.
According to toprank.com, making the switch to social media from other more traditional marketing methods can be challenging for those in the healthcare field. Unlike other industries, medical professionals must deal with a multitude of privacy regulations. A study by Nielsen Online back in 2009 found that up to 90 percent of physicians rely on the Internet as an essential part of their practices, and almost half rely on the Web for research, toprank.com reports.
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Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
