Creating buzz: New approaches to marketing

With the growing popularity of PPOs over HMOs and the growth of consumer-directed health care programs, some physicians are discovering the importance of promoting their practices. These days, it takes more than a listing in an insurance directory.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. Feb. 6, 2006.

When it comes to spreading the word about your practice, many physicians feel a sign outside the office and a listing in an insurance directory are sufficient. But the doctors at Arroyo Seco Medical Group in Pasadena, Calif., wanted to set themselves apart from the pack.

Promoting their services in local movie theaters is certainly one way of doing that.

Twice a year, during open enrollment periods, Arroyo Seco, a primary care group with more than a dozen physicians, buys ads that appear as slides in theaters before the start of a movie. So, while prospective patients are chewing popcorn and sipping sodas, they can be reminded of where to go if they get sick or need a checkup.

A theater promotion -- likely inserted among ads for businesses such as the local ice cream parlor and family restaurant -- strays from tradition when it comes to marketing a practice. But in today's changing business environment for doctors, tradition might no longer be the guiding principle.

"The bottom line was that we felt that just having our name in the HMO directory was not going to be enough," said Henry P. Sideropoulos, MD, an internist and president of Arroyo Seco. "We want to differentiate ourselves from other groups in the area, and just having our name in the directory doesn't do that."

More physician groups are taking a similar approach to marketing their services, especially in an era of increasing patient choice. Enrollment in PPO programs is up compared with that in HMOs, and more companies are steering employees to consumer-directed health care plans, where patients are expected to take more ownership in their health care.