Wed. May 1st, 2024

I want to review a good article I just found called Social Media for Healthcare: How to Keep Patients Engaged. It is always good to scan the web and see what others are doing. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

To answer the question posed in the headline, I think you do need social media for your DPC practice. As the article I found states:

The applications of social media for healthcare are endless. It’s a new patient acquisition tool, a brand management tool and a public awareness tool all rolled into one. 

Is that true for DPC?

  • Patient acquisition tool – check
  • Brand management tool – check
  • Public awareness tool – check

Social media gives you a chance to educate the public about DPC, about health topics, about the problems with the healthcare system, and so much more. It’s marketing without marketing.

You also become “the trusted expert” on health topics which gives you more credibility. It’s also a way for prospective patients to see a face and relate to you before joining.

Here are some highlighted points from the article that you can dig deeper into by clicking the link above:

Social media for healthcare marketing best practices

1. Publish educational content to keep patients in the loop

2. Use inspirational content to motivate followers 

3. Post infographics for increased engagement 

4. Harness the power of health-related hashtags

5. Take your audience behind-the-scenes

6. Publish patient shout-outs to spread positivity

I do not know many DPC practices that ignore the benefits of social media. I am sure they exist but I believe it’s a huge opportunity missed. It takes a little effort but you now have the time to do it.

172180cookie-checkDo You Need Social Media for Your Direct Primary Care Practice?
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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