Nearly 80% of providers say a high-quality digital presence on their healthcare organization’s find-a-provider website is extremely or very important, according to Kyruus’ recent survey of 200 providers. The new study revisits a 2019 survey and reveals fresh insights from providers about the importance of a strong digital profile, including:
- Accuracy is critical because it helps providers depict who they are and what makes them unique
- Profiles should surface everywhere consumers look online for care—and healthcare organizations should take the lead to make this happen
- Ongoing communication drives provider engagement in the organization’s digital access strategies
Here are key takeaways about what providers want—and how healthcare organizations can help. To learn more about what’s on providers’ minds today, download the full report.
Providers Want to Paint an Accurate Picture for Consumers and Referring Colleagues
Online profiles are providers’ digital calling cards, so it’s vital to present accurate, complete information to consumers and other providers who may refer patients. It’s not surprising that providers cite accurately conveying their professional experience and showcasing their academic research, publications, and experience as top reasons for maintaining a high-quality digital profile. After all, these are the attributes that, when presented accurately and completely, differentiate providers from their peers.
Providers Want Their Digital Presence to Encompass Internal and External Channels
Providers want their profiles to surface everywhere consumers search online for care—including health plan websites, search engines, and health-related third-party sites—as a means to drive patient acquisition. But they can’t make this happen on their own: two-thirds say it’s extremely or very important for healthcare organizations to be more active in online channel expansion, up from just over half in 2019.
Why Providers Say Healthcare Organizations Should Help Manage Profiles Across Channels
Accurate profile data is just as important on third-party sites—and in this case it’s because it helps providers avoid scheduling clinically inappropriate patients. A robust provider data management system is key here, as it helps healthcare organizations centralize and manage their data, so when it is shared externally, provider profiles are both up-to-date and consistent.
Providers Want to Be Part of Digital Access Strategies
Here’s some good news: most providers are satisfied with communications from their healthcare organization around digital access initiatives—a marked improvement over 2019—and the majority want to play a role in digital access strategies. On a more granular level, nearly all say they are involved to some degree in creating their profile on their organization’s find-a-provider website and an equal number want to be more involved, either personally or through their staff. This is positive progress that healthcare organizations should work to continually maintain.
Tips for Getting Started
Providers want to collaborate with their healthcare organizations on curating a strong digital presence in internal and external channels. Use these quick tips to get started:
- Create a provider engagement program that shares guidance about what attributes are most important to surface and enables providers to validate their profile data and define their clinical focus areas in detail.
- Establish a clinically-led data governance strategy that defines processes to ensure data accuracy and security; this engages providers and administrators in data maintenance, with appropriate approvals and minimal risk.
- Include providers in the process as the organization explores opportunities to leverage their provider directories in other digital channels such as search engines, health plans, and other healthcare-related websites.
