I though we posted information on this, but may have overlooked it.
Last October, The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) updated their joint policy regarding LASIK advertising.
These guidelines are intended to help surgeons and administrators provide consumers with more truthful, as well as informative advertising regarding LASIK. It also provides surgeon no only with ethical obligations, but legal ones as well.
This includes what is presented and promoted on your LASIK website or LASIK sections of your website.
Some of the issues that are addressed are The Federal Trade Commission Act, The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the use of testimonials in advertisements, including expert endorsements. It also contains examples of good and bad claims regarding safety and efficacy.
The complete policy statement can be accessed on the ASCRS website.
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I read an article in EyeNet about “Internet Advice: When Patients Go Onlilne”.
It makes a good point about the changing conusmer, and how practices and surgeons need to start looking at communicating with them.
The fact is, online consumers are taking more control over their healthcare, including their vision. Their questions are becoming more and more complex and they provide a lot more details, including sending photos, etc. when seeking information from providers.
Online eye care forums, like www.medhelp.org (in partnership with the AAO), give some indication that eye care providers, whether ODs or MDs, aren’t always communicating in a manner the patients want them to. Many people that turn to online physicians do so because their questions or concerns were not answered by their personal doctor.
One of our clients, San Diego LASIK Surgeon, Dr. Sandy Feldman, who is a Medhelp expert, was quoted: “Basically, people are looking for more information about their conditions. And many times, people are confused by what they’re told.”
All this reiterates the importance of closely evaluating how you communicate with your patients in the office, as well as when they communicate with you online.
On February 25, 2009 the American Journal of Ophthalmology released its 10 year follow-up on its study of Excimer laser ablation for myopia in thin corneas. The initial tests proved that the laser could safely and effectively correct myopia in very thin corneas and the follow-up now confirms that correction in this procedure provides “stable visual and refractive outcomes” after 10 years.
10 years is an incredibly long time for technology to remain prevalent and useful. In celebration of the Excimer laser’s effectiveness over a 10 year run, here’s some great blog entries on the Excimer laser, how it has changed, and how different ophthalmologists use it today.
What do you think of the Excimer laser? Are there other pinnacles of modern technology you think apply to LASIK surgery and ophthalmology? Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions!
It’s not suprising that most LASIK practices attribute the majority of their surgical volume to happy patient referrals. What is suprising is that the vast majority do nothing, spend no time or money, stimulating it, or trying to get more!
Before, practices had the excuse that there was little they can do, besides incentivising them. Today, that excuse is eliminated with the Web and social media websites. The Internet has become a social media mecca and the opportunity to stimulate word of mouth business from your happy patients is right at your fingertips.
Utilizing social media websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, is the first step in taking your word of mouth marketing to the next level.
Tune in later for more details on how.
Low myopes have become increasingly more cautious about who they trust with their eyes and their money. With the recession in full-swing, people are putting more confidence into social networking sites to get information and recommendations for ophthalmologists.
Your practice would no doubt benefit from incorporating social media marketing into your current web marketing strategy. Creating and maintaining profiles on various social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and DoctorsNLawyers will provide your past patients the opportunity to rave about the exceptional results you gave them—potentially attracting future patients to your practice. Blogging is a sure-fire way to establish yourself as an industry expert. And all of this can be done in less than an hour a day.
Essentially, social media provides a powerful and affordable marketing tool. And while LASIK candidates may not be able to see great, they know exactly where to look. Will they find you?
Although the economy has impacted the LASIK industry and the total number of searches for just “LASIK” on the search engines have declined, there have an increase in the number of searches for LASIK-related searches, like “LASIK cost”.
In fact, the number of searches for “LASIK cost” on Google has doubled since June 2008.
If you are looking to increase the number of users to your website, be sure to revisit your target search phrases and the resources on your website to reflect them.