Transforming Patient Communications: An Instructional Pathway for Physicians

Are you a healthcare professional looking to deepen your connection with patients using external communications? Are you seeking to build your new or existing professional brand? What's your goal for 2024? Have you set one?

Effective content development is something I frequently am called upon to help doctors choose "what" to do and "when". But medical content generation has its challenges. For one thing, there's clinician speak and patient speak. Sometimes they intersect, but rarely.

Here are three points to consider:

• Engage with Patients Meaningfully: Master techniques to understand and empathize with your patients, transforming the way you communicate. This is where a little coaching or guidance could help if you're a quick study and will take the time to practice content generation and mastery. If not, fess up and hire a ghostwriter. Make sure the ghostwriter is culturally aligned with your audience. A foreign ghostwriter who's not in tune with your specific audience (regionally, culturally, conservatively, liberally, or linguistically) could be a waste of time, money and opportunity. Even thigs like British spellings in the Heart of America can be a turnoff; it doesn't come off as "high brow".
• Harness Data Effectively: Leverage patient data to identify and address key pain points, tailoring your approach for maximum impact. Break down topics as you stratify outcomes results. Don't broad brush things. Go granular as possible without being prescriptive or preachy.
• Tell Stories That Heal: Uncover the secrets of value-driven storytelling to create content that not only informs but inspires action towards better health. People will react well if they are being educated and enlightened rather than sold.

And one last thing: One is always more than none. If your direct competitors aren't publishing content, your puny little one blog article gives you 100% share of voice. Take that ball and run across the field to the goalpost with it as if you have no one else trying to stop you ... because you don't have anyone else chasing you or blocking you.

Maria K Todd PhD MHA

Healthcare Business Development Expert

Certified in Digital Marketing

800.727.4160