Does Your Medical Practice Website Relieve Patient Anxiety?
Many people today fail to visit physicians even when they know they should, out of fear or anxiety. Whether these fears are based on previous negative experiences with medical practitioners or a fear of unknown conditions, creating the right website can relieve patient anxiety so that they can get the medical care and treatment they need. These are the things you can put on your medical practice website to relieve patient anxiety.
Answer FAQs
Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of answering their questions – even before they’ve asked them. Often this gives patients, or potential patients, a starting place to make their decisions to seek treatment.
Make sure your FAQ page is meaty and filled with juicy bits of information. This is where they go to learn. Teach them. But keep it in bite-sized bits of information that is easy to scan. In addition, ensure that your medical practice website is mobile friendly so that patients can read your website on-the-go or in your waiting room on their smartphone.
Inviting Images of the Practice/Physician and Staff with Patients
Pictures paint a story, allowing website visitors to build an emotional connection with your team. Using videos of your team in action makes it even more personal. Images are important parts of the storytelling process that allows patients to connect with you before they’ve walked into the doors.
Patients want to see you and your team in action. They want to see how caring you are and feel that you’ll show them the same care when dealing with them. It also makes them feel invited, wanted, and even welcomed to your practice.
Real Photographs Rather than Stock Images
This is especially true when it comes to before and after images of plastic surgery, though it can be true in any situation. Stock images actually build distrust rather than the trust you want your website to foster.
Videos Explaining the Procedures
Medical and surgical procedures are frightening to most patients. They don’t understand what’s going to happen. Explaining what takes place during the procedure not only puts them at ease, it erases the fear of the unknown.
Don’t limit the videos to explaining procedures. While they are important, videos also provide an opportunity for patients to learn more about you, your practice, your “bedside manner,” and your purpose for practicing in your field – in your voice.
Experience and credentials are one thing. They are important. But those can be found in the details. Patients want to feel that you’re approachable – that they can talk to you – and videos show them that this is the case.
Testimonials
The best thing you have to offer patients and potential patients is testimonials from actual patients. Allowing patients to post their experiences, whether with a procedure you’ve performed or interaction with you and your staff, provides intimate glimpses into your practice that make patients feel more at ease turning to you for their medical care and treatment needs.
If your medical practice website is missing any of these key elements you might be missing out on patients that need just a little encouragement or anxiety reduction before getting the treatment they need. More importantly, they may be missing out on the help you can provide.
