With retirees less likely to travel to warm climates this winter, what will be the impact on physicians in these regions? The obvious result is a lack of increase in patient volumes that is the norm during this season, which creates a greater dependence on generating appointments with existing patients and attracting new patients to the practice. †Since retirees often see an array of specialists for a variety of conditions, physician practices that rely on referrals are likely to experience the greatest impact from the decrease in seasonal patients. †At ddm, we are counseling many specialty physician practices to create educational programs aimed at referral sources that focus on new or seasonal conditions that may appear in their older patients. †Any content that can qualify for CME credit is worth an hour of a pcp’s time. †Tactics vary by practice but often include some combination of event and web strategies. †The bottom line is, this is uncharted territory for many physicians but there are an array of sound marketing strategies that can improve patient volumes.
Mike McCarthy
www.teamddm.com
