10 benefits of a patient-centered hospital website

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10 benefits of a patient-centered hospital website
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Hospitals compete for customers just like other
businesses. Todays patients are sophisticated
consumers and avid researchers as well. A
Deloitte study says that 77 of them use search
and 83 visit hospital websites before setting up
appointments. The decision process is indeed
influenced by digital content. Thats why its
critical to put the patient at the center of a
hospital website. Forget the past. To be
original and appealing your hospital website must
be built from a fresh, solid foundation.
Patient-centered hospital websites present
meaningful and relevant information with
intuitive, easy-to-use navigation for locating
useful or actionable information quickly.
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Simple, clear navigation is a critical aspect of
a hospital web design as many of the visitors
will be scanning for information in a hurry.
 Hospital websites will keep visitors engaged
with the content and encourage them to spend more
time on the site. A professional hospital website
can lower bounce rates and send positive signals
to Google, boosting your search engine
optimization (SEO) efforts.                       
             Is your Rural Hospital Website
Design designed and updated from a patients
perspective? Put yourself in their shoes. Your
patients want and expect health care delivered
with a sense of immediacy and convenience. They
are most likely to go online first, and nearly
all of them (90) will begin a search with their
mobile device.  
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A responsive, mobile-friendly hospital web design
is non-negotiable. Google rewards mobile-friendly
hospital sites with improved search rankings and
visibility. Whether viewed on desktop or mobile,
the website is a core element of any branding
strategy as it is a cost-effective and appealing
channel to reach out, scale to potential patients
and their network of friends. Rural hospitals
websites offer an opportunity to showcase your
brand and to tell your story in a compelling
manner. Profile your doctors and interview them.
Along with photos, include info about education,
areas of practice, and offbeat nuggets such as
hobbies. Provide info on the departments, your
services, and an interactive map to locate your
facility.
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The content you publish should be complete,
accurate, up-to-date and easy to understand
without jargon. Dont fall into the trap of
content overload. Make every element (text,
photo, video, flash animation) clear to visitors.
To make this possible rely on a good web team
experienced in web design for rural
hospitals When done well, patients and visitors
find hospital blogs a goldmine of content
featuring medical tips, treatment programs,
diagnosis, trends, general discussion on a range
of diseases and more. A 3D tour of the hospital
provides a positive user experience. You can
include video clips that demonstrate how a
procedure works or a doctors interview. Enabling
appointment booking with doctors and live chat
sessions will add value as well.
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An effective rural hospital website with useful
features and interactivity can help in 10 ways
1. Reach out to potential patients and/or their
influencers in a cost-effective manner 2. Get
casual visitors interested in your services and
ready to book an appointment or sign up for
newsletters 3. Gather a database of potential
patients you can contact 4. Improve brand
recognition and positive image of your
hospital 5. Establish expertise in select
specialties and treatments 6. Make a great first
impression with a potential patient 7. Generate a
growing interest and a desire to buy, order,
consult 8. Promote doctors, enhance visibility on
search engines and boost rankings 9. Offer a
human touch and present a likable brand
personality 10. Discuss trends, best-in-class
practices, share success stories
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Dont underestimate the power of an appealing
rural hospital website design. If your site is
not professionally designed and up-to-date, you
may have trouble connecting with visitors. A
well-designed rural hospital website opens a
window to have a heart-to-heart interaction with
your potential patients. Tell your story and keep
it compelling and positive. Interested in a
patient-centered hospital website? The web team
at SRJ have years of experience creating
great Rural Hospital Website Design. For a free
consultation, call us at 1-800-411-7401.