Leonhard Loimer, MD

There will be a time       (perhaps sooner than one might think) that a practice website (or       homepage) will be as normal, and as necessary, as telephone and fax       nowadays. 



 Patients/consumers prefer their own doctor for medical information: if       their doctor has this information on the practice website, patients know       they can trust it.


 The doctor or nurse, in the practice, can tell patients exactly where       they can find information about a certain treatment.


 The doctor can make available details of practice hours, a map of the       practice’s location and other organisational information.


 Patients can use the site to make appointments and to request       prescription refills.




Doctors who want a website for their practice need to bear a few things in       mind:


 In Europe the density of Internet users is not yet as high as in the       USA. It becomes lower as you move south within Europe.


 As a group, women who might wish to consult a gynaecologist do not       necessarily have the same characteristics as the typical Internet user,       who is young, relatively highly educated and financially independent.       However, the number of women, including elderly patients, searching for       information on the Internet has been growing and now surpasses the number       of men.

“…The number of women       searching       for information on the Internet has been growing and now surpasses the number of men.”

 The creation of your own       site can raise very important legal questions: in some countries in Europe       doctors are not allowed to advertise, and having a website could be seen       as a way to attract more patients. If in doubt, ask your professional       association before you start to run your site.


 You need to assess the competitive situation for physicians in your       country. In some parts of Europe and the USA your competitors will check       your site immediately for possible errors and illegal advertising. 


 Do not expect that the day after your website appears it will be       visited constantly. Your patients, current and prospective, will not know       about it automatically! A website is like any other commercial operation,       which must first establish itself in the market. You have to promote it.

“Your patients, current       and prospective, will not know about your website automatically! You have to promote it.”

 You must consider       questions from patients as constituting a part of their medical records.       This means that, as soon as you launch your site, you have to keep the       Q&A very secure, with professional encryption.


 For the same reason, never use the same email address for your practice       and for yourself. (You don't allow your children to play video games on       your practice computer…)



For the website you will need content. This is certainly very       important. But so much has been written already and you somehow have the       feeling that you do not need to write everything again.       Please remember that everything written by an author, photographed or       published is the property of the author, photographer or whoever they sold       it to! Keep this in your mind when you build a website.       Before you create your own website, you will, as a matter of course, look       at similar sites. Resist any temptation to copy any text from these into       your own site: you would inevitably come into conflict with the copyright       laws. (If you really feel you have to add some alien text, try at least to       recast it into your own words.)




       If you decide you want to have your own website, there are several       options:


 You can commission a professional website designer to develop and host       your site and trust that they will have good taste and enough commitment       to all your ideas. To find a webmaster, you can ask your colleagues, check       the yellow pages or browse the Web. Ask for a quote from at least two       companies: the differences in price will be surprising! 


 Buy one of the innumerable HTML software programs in order to do it       yourself. You construct your site – via trial and error – while       learning to handle the program. Then you contact an ISP (Internet service       provider) and upload your own site to the web. This will save you some       money but will cost you a lot of time: to create a professional-looking       website yourself, you should allow weeks, or even months.


 A friend, or the son of a neighbour, offers to put the site together       for you? Remember that with the website you present yourself: an       amateurish website will reflect on you and on your professional skills.


 There are now some medical associations who offer to provide websites       for individual members. This is really the best solution: not too       expensive, a professional design and, most important, a guarantee of       high-quality and up-to-date content. 




       As your website becomes well known you will gradually start to benefit       from it.
       There are several ways of promoting your site:


 The most elegant option is to create numerous ‘meta tags’. Also,       register the site with all the relevant search engines. But please       remember that this will not specifically address your target group. A       virtual patient, far away, who logs on to your website may find it useful       but will never visit your practice. She may email you with a lot of very       interesting questions. It will take you several hours to answer these, all       unpaid. Instead of saving you time it will cost you hours of your leisure       time.


 A better method for promoting your website is to announce your URL       (i.e. web address) in the local media: the local newspaper or television.       You can imagine: someone is reading the newspaper and comes across your       announcement. Perhaps her friend has suffered from dysmenorrhoea for a       long time, so she tells her friend about this new website. 


 Tell everybody about it! Print the URL on your business cards, practice       stationery and invoices. Announce it in your waiting room and on your       answering machine. This will arouse interest and curiosity about your       website. 



 Do not pack your website with information: you can answer       questions and discuss issues when a patient visits your practice (this,       after all, is the reason for the website). Also, providing a lot of       information opens up the potential for legal action against you. 


 Keep the navigation simple: the patient must be able to return       very easily to the homepage with your address and telephone number.


 Do not restrict your website to just technical material.       Prospective patients will be interested in some personal details about       their future gynaecologist: number of children, leisure interests, etc.).


 When you invite the patient to respond by email, remember that       she will not necessarily be accessing the Internet from home, so sometimes       there will be no email facility available. Create a CGI Script for the       email facility, so the patient can answer from the Internet caf or       community library. 


 Under no circumstances use protected areas. Your new patients may       feel excluded.


 Install a guest book: enable the patient to write in compliments       or criticism. You can delete all criticism immediately, of course, but       remember that the patient will see that her comment has been removed! Most       important: don’t forget to check the guest book regularly. 

 Attach a hit counter! This gives the patient the impression that       your website is read by lots of people. Do not begin with 0: you can set       the counter to start on a high number: 

 Add a city/town map with the location of your practice and       parking suggestions marked. 


 Install a search facility on your homepage for glossary words.       Patients need to find useful information easily: 

 Give your website an up-to-date feel: insert the current date on the       homepage.


       Despite the glitches that inevitably occur with such a project, I hope       this article has encouraged you to create your own practice website.

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There will be a time (perhaps sooner than one might think) that a practice website (or homepage) will be as normal, and as necessary, as telephone and fax nowadays.

Leonhard Loimer, MD

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