Medical Marketing Tips How to Use a Blog to Promote Your Medical Practice

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If you are a doctor and youre not blogging, the question is: why not? Blogging is a powerful method of medical marketing that helps you get your name out there, connect with potential patients, and generate more business. You might be wondering why on earth you would take time out of your busy schedule as a physician to write for free. Well, heres why.

For one, if youre far too busy to blog yourself, you can always hire a ghostwriter to write your blog posts for you, and then review each blog post to ensure that you approve of its content and request changes if necessary. Secondly, blog posts arent difficult to write. Even if you just take 30 minutes out of your day, you can write a pretty decent blog post. Blog posts tend to be shorter than other kinds of online articles, and they are written in a casual tone.

Surely, you already have a website for your medical practice. If not, you absolutely need to get one. In this day and age, in order to attract new patients, its essential for a portion of your medical marketing campaign to be conducted online. The majority of adults search for health information online and when they need to go to the doctor, they do a quick online search to find doctors in their area. You need to make sure that you have a search engine-optimized website that people can find when they search online. People are more likely to trust you and choose you as their doctor if you have a presence online. Blogs help you expand that presence and give your practice more credibility.
The main purpose of having a blog is to connect with your patients and potential patients. Now, clearly, you wouldnt use a blog to talk about what happens in your practice or how your day was. However, you could use a blog to discuss the latest treatments in your field, recent medical breakthroughs, and other general information. When people browse online for medical information and find your site, they are likely to trust you as a good source of information since you are a doctor. This helps you build authority within your medical field as well as online.

Another important benefit of blogging is that you can connect with your readers on a personal level. Your blog readers will comment on blog posts you write that they find interesting, and you can then respond to their comments. As a result of blogging, you can connect with your patients and potential patients. People will think of you as a friendly, approachable doctor rather than one who is too busy to give them the time of day. This personal connection is important because it helps you attract more patients to your practice.

Blogging is also beneficial because it gives your online presence a major boost. People arent the only ones who love blogs; search engines do too. Blogs are constantly updated and the search engines like content-rich sites that are fresh and frequently updated. Furthermore, a blog connected to your main website makes it easier for search engine robots to crawl and index your site. And most importantly, content is considered king online. Both people and search engines love great content. Great content attracts links on other relevant sites and blogs, which then leads to a higher search engine ranking. Search engines judge the popularity and relevance of your site based on the number of links back to your site that accumulate on other websites.

Blogging also makes it easier for you to participate in social media because you have something that you can immediately share and use to attract attention to yourself and your practice. By joining a site like Twitter, you can post updates, or “tweets,” each time you write a new blog post. If the blog posts are good, other Twitter users will “re-tweet” them and spread them across the twitterverse. Social media marketing is like word-of-mouth on steroids, and when used properly, it can catapult you to both online and offline fame.

So, what are you waiting for? If your medical marketing plan doesnt include blogging, consider adding a blog to your current website. The more you update the blog, the better, but you can even update it as little as once or twice per week if you are too busy to dedicate any more time to it than that. There are a number of doctors and hospitals that have used blogging and social media to generate publicity and attract new patients, and you can do the same. Start a blog today if you want to increase awareness about your practice and generate publicity both online and offline.

The Increasing Demand for Arabic Medical Translation

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Due to the vast territory inhabited by Arabic speakers, an expanding civilization, and increasing knowledge about medicine, there is a the significant spread of the Arabic language, and important works and knowledge regarding health benefits and medicine are translated into the Arabic tongue.

It is essential to understand diseases and diagnoses in order to give the most effective ways of curing them with medicines, along with helpful advice to keep healthy. Nowadays, some of the Arabic countries are becoming centres of learning and business. Hence, quite a few wealthy and famous people choose to avail the medical Assistance in some of the modern Arabic countries.

While physicians of different religions are all working towards the same goal in the medical industry, learning and adapting knowledge from the Middle Eastern teachings is significant and helpful. Thus, these Arabic medical knowledge documents have to be translated into more understandable languages for the medical practitioners who do not speak Arabic.

Arabic medical science has made plenty of contributions in the knowledge towards health and medical techniques, such as curing diseases with drugs and knowledge of contagious diseases. This medical knowledge is just one the important and helpful facts for physicians and patients.

Quite often, the medical community has encountered written materials that are only available in foreign language; and all these medical documents should be translated into other languages to disseminate that knowledge.

Otherwise, potential risks and damage may result from applying medical knowledge without proper and legitimate understanding.

Arabic is the most widely spoken Central Semitic language. Linguists believe that it is one of the old living languages still spoken today; it is difficult to study for non-native speakers, especially because its writing system is different from the Latin alphabet. In addition, Arabic is the most spoken language of the Middle East and is considered the holy language of the Quran; hence, the majority of the Muslim population want to learn to speak and write in Arabic, or at least to read it proficiently.

It should be noted that the translation of medical documents is a complex process, which requires full understanding of the medical terminology and linguistic proficiency both in the source and target language.

All medical documents that are needed to be translated to other foreign languages or foreign medical languages are essential to be translated into Arabic accurately. In doing so, medical translators and interpreters must be highly skilled and well-experienced linguists who have a thorough understand in the specific medical fields.

The demand for medical translators is massively increasing, because companies want to provide accurate and professional medical translation in any languages, including Arabic, in order to meet the international regulations for companies selling and distributing in the international market.

Lytec Medical Billing Software

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One of the most widely use software in the area of medical billing is the Lytec medical billing software. Many professionals completely rely on this software for assistance in billing, coding and insurance reimbursement.

Around for nearly two decades Lytec medical billing software, since 1989 have proved indispensable for thousands of medical billing pros who have found it to be a trustworthy tool to operate their businesses.

What is it that makes Lytec so trustworthy? It is not the brand reputation nor the marketing hype, but rather its unique combination of a proven technical superiority and personalized services which make the brand so popular amongst all other brands available in the market. The software not only hikes up profitability of the business, but also helps in economizing on costs as well.

Nearly 20 years after the first Lytec software hit the market a newer and improved system has been launched the Lytec 2005. As incredible as it may sound more than 40000 systems got sold out within the first few months of its introduction. Thus Lytec clearly emerged as the market leader in practice management and medical billing software segment. The software delivers exactly what is needed by its user, including patient accounting, insurance billing, claims tracking, accounts receivable, and appointment scheduling.

If you wish to smarten up yur business, there is no alternative to Lytec medical billing software. Thousands of users unanimously agree that it is not only an asset in the office but an invaluable tool for the entire healthcare management scenario.

The job of a medical billing person is strewn with attention to details and superior levels of accuracy. There is hardly any place for glitches or errors, however small they may be.

What are the additional value-added features of the trusted Lytec medical billing software? Firstly, it is HIPPA or, Health Insurance Probability and Accountability Act compliant. Incidentally, this Act has certain laid-down guidelines which every medical practice has to abide by. This has been mandatory by the US government. With this software, because of its built-in HIPPA compatibility, you need not take the trouble of familiarizing yourself with all the complex systems as the software does all that for you.

The other features which this soft ware has and which make it stand out from the rest include: ApptBox, Electronic Claims Processing, AccuScrubber MX, Direct Claims, and more. The AccuScrubber is an additional program which can be loaded on to your computer which allows you to review any healthcare claim. It is perfectly compatible with the Lytec medical billing software and does not cause any errors or hurdles during its operation. It simply adds more value to the overall system.

The ApptBox is a type of automated communication system which permits any physician’s office to confirm a patients’ appointment and other communication related functions.

Perhaps the best in terms of functionality, value-additions and convenience, the Lytec medical billing software has proved to be an asset for the user and the using companies.

Make right choice to travel abroad for medical treatment

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In February, Jonathan Reeder had never heard of medical tourism. But today, he sings praises to one such medical tourism company WorldMedAssist.com for finding him an affordable option for the prostate surgery he needed.

Reeder knew when he left his dental practice in Houston to do dental contract work, hed either need to self-insure or find an affordable private pay policy. While researching his options, he got alarming news from his doctor: his PSA test results had soared from an alert-level 5 to alarm-level 8. This put him into the dreaded category of “pre-existing condition,” and therefore uninsurable.

When his biopsy came back positive for prostate cancer in February, he had three alternatives: watch and wait, radiation, or surgery. Wanting to get this behind him as quickly as possible, he chose surgery. Then came more bad news: The surgeons fee alone would cost $36,000. “Who knows what the total would have been by the time you add in hospital fees, anesthesiologist, tests, but probably around $50,000.” Reeder said.

His wife remembered an article theyd both read in AARP Magazine about medical tourism a few years earlier. Searching online under medical tourism, he found several companies offering to coordinate all details of his radical prostatectomy.

“Some websites were clumsy, some people I contacted were too aggressive, some had such broken English I couldnt understand them,” Reeder recalled. “I finally landed on www.WorldMedAssist.com. I got in touch with Wouter Hoeberechts, the CEO, who did a lot of research on my options, hoping we could find a place that would do laparoscopic surgery using a robotic arm. Turns out, this was not an option for me.”

WorldMed Assist hunted for the best doctor and the best hospital for Reeders open surgery. Ultimately, WorldMed Assist was able to offer the best cost with the best doctor at the best hospital in Hyderabad, India. When WorldMed Assist told Reeder his trip to India would cost $7,500, including all his medical expenses, travel and hotel, the deal was sealed in Reeders mind. But Hoeberechts urged him first to have his own physicians weigh in on the choice.

“Both my family physician and urologist checked out WorldMed Assists recommendation, and both agreed this was a good choice,” Reeder said. “The doctor is UK board certified, had a stellar reputation. I have a lot of friends and relatives whose U.S. physicians are from India, so I wasnt at all nervous about my decision I knew India had a reputation for high quality medicine, and I learned that Apollo Hospital was affiliated with Johns Hopkins.”

The surgery was scheduled for May 9. “All I had to do was make the payment, book my travel and get on the plane. WorldMed Assists travel agency partner, Carson Wagonlit, got me a great fare, with good connections,” Reeder said. “WorldMed Assist set up phone consultations with my doctor in India and transferred my medical records. All I had to do was show up.”

When he arrived at Indias Hyderabad airport, he was met by an executive team, who shuttled him directly to Apollo, showed him to his room, and told him to rest up for a two-day battery of pre-op tests that would begin the next morning. “I didnt have any medical procedures that first night, and they didnt even charge me for the room!” he said.

The thoroughness of the pre-op work amazed Reeder. “Besides the typical tests, they did an MRI and a bone scan, plus put me on the treadmill to make sure my heart would take the surgery. This was all included in my $7500 bill. Imagine how many lines of additional charges would have been on my bill if I were doing this in the U.S.”

His surgery lasted two hours and forty minutes, then off to spend the night in the trauma intensive care unit. “Since my wife wasnt able to go to India with me, Wouter called her at least four times during the 24 hours following my surgery,” he said. “He stayed on top of all the details, and relayed progress reports so shed know whether I was coming home or if she could collect on my life insurance,” he said with a grin.

Reeder was discharged after three days. “Looking into the big brown eyes of nurses with such beautiful skin must be why I recovered so fast,” he smirked.

After his discharge, Reeder had a week to tour Hyderabad before returning to Apollo to have his staples removed. The one thing he wanted most to see was a sacred cow. He didnt have to look far. “Cows walked down the middle of the road, creating chaotic traffic. No one wanted to hit a cow, so traffic would come to a complete stop, waiting for the cows to determine their course.”

Reeders experience in India turned him into a devoted fan of medical tourism. “As a dentist, I have more familiarity with the medical system than the average American. Given my situation of no insurance, I made the right choice going to India. WorldMed Assist made it all so easy. Everything was turnkey and flawless, and the medical care was excellent.” he said.

Why Even Gifted Medical Students Need to Take USMLE Review Seriously

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Medical students who are intellectually gifted and talented often perform individual tasks at a very high level. These students display exceptional memories and learn at a rapid pace. They are knowledgeable about things which their colleagues may not have even heard of yet. But in the USMLE world, a gifted student may also exhibit extreme anxiety more than the average medical student. Here are some truths about giftedness which will further explain why no medical student should deny themselves the opportunity to participate in an adequate USMLE review:

1. Gifted students are often perfectionists and idealistic. They may equate achievement and grades with self-esteem and self-worth, which sometimes leads to fear of failure and interferes with achievement.

2. Medical students who are gifted may experience heightened sensitivity to their own expectations and those of others resulting in guilt over achievements or grades perceived to be low.

3. Most of the gifted students are asynchronous. Their chronological age, social, physical, emotional and intellectual development may be at different levels.

4. Some gifted students are “mappers” or sequential learners while others are “leapers” or spatial learners. Leapers may not know how they got a right answer. Mappers may get lost in the steps leading to the right answer.

5. Gifted students may be so far ahead of their colleagues or classmates that they know more than half of the lesson before the school year begins. Their boredom can result in low achievement and grades.

6. Gifted people are problem solvers. They benefit from working on open-ended, interdisciplinary problems.

7. Gifted individuals often think abstractly and with such complexity that they may need help with concrete study and test-taking skills. In the USMLE world, they may not be able to select one answer in a multiple choice question because they see how all the answers might be correct.

8. Gifted individuals who do well in school may define success in getting an “A” and failure as any grade other than “A.” Thus, in their USMLE review sessions or a practice test any result that is not a “perfect” result and does not make them feel they are at the top of their class, may make them feel frustrated.

Thus medical students who are gifted and talented need opportunities to work hard on challenging learning tasks. Participating with fellow students in a rigorous USMLE review is an opportunity for talented student both to learn and to be understood by their colleagues. In fact the most gifted students may benefit from such reviews as much as, if not more, than the “average” or “below-average” student.