PUBLIC RELATIONS

Doctor's P.R. has been a leader in medical public relations and publicity for over twelve years, with hundreds of news stories placed on television and in newspapers and magazines. We have represented medical practices in nearly every field of medicine. Doctor's P.R. can provide a publicity program designed to attract the type of media coverage that will help make your practice one of the better-known physician practices in your market area. We have the media contacts, knowledge of medical procedures and the creativity to plan and execute a successful program.

Doctors practicing in the world of elective medical procedures are discovering
that its not always enough to offer the latest procedures performed with state-of-the-art equipment. Even those practices which have developed large patient bases need to create new patient inquiries in order to grow and prosper. Many
physicians, faced with stiff competition for new patients report spending
thousands of dollars each month for advertising in newspapers and on radio
and television.

The results of these ad blitzes are mixed at best, according to Glenn H. Weissman, M.D., a head & neck - facial plastic surgeon with offices located in Arcadia, CA. "It's hard to stand out from all the other practices who are running ads for liposuction, laser resurfacing and other cosmetic procedures", he says. "It's not uncommon to spend more than a thousand dollars for just one ad in our major newspaper and receive only five or six phone inquiries."

MEDIA RELATIONS IS KEY

For Dr. Weissman's practice as well as many others across the country, news
coverage generated through a sustained media relations/public relations
program has proven to be the most effective vehicle for practice growth and name recognition. “Television news coverage has had a dramatic impact on my practice creating significant new patient flow and a substantial increase in our cash flow”, according to Dr. Weissman who performs facial cosmetic procedures ranging from rhinoplasty to many of the “lighter” procedures such as microdermabrasion and BOTOX injections. "Doctor's P.R. arranged a news story on the local ABC station, covering a type of rhinoplasty which I performed and described for the reporter. The story aired that evening, and was a complete success. No sooner did the segment air, we were flooded with phone calls.
I estimate that the first day we took 60 or 70 phone calls and booked approximately 25 appointments. News coverage provides the physician with third-party credibility that ads just can't provide. People seem to have more faith in doctors who are featured on news programs."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Dr. Weissman appeared on "THE VIEW", a nationally broadcast talk show taped in New York and hosted by a panel of women including Barbara Walters. Dr. Weissman's program appearance, featuring an ant-snoring spray he developed, yielded spectacular results, with over 20,000 "hits" on his web site and more than 400 calls placed to his Los Angeles-area offices. Seven months later, Dr. Weissman was still receiving numerous phone and email inquiries.

CULTIVATING THE MEDIA

Studies have shown that the news media have become the primary source of health news for many people. So how can a health care provider harness the power of the media to educate the public while creating beneficial coverage for his or her practice? According to medical public relations consultant Gary Grasso, the key is to identify what the media is looking for and to provide it in a "turn-key" format that will interest the media's viewers or readers. "We know how to write for each type of broadcast or print media and how to promote each story for optimal benefit to the practice," he says. "Most importantly, we have built ongoing relationships with the media who look to us for interesting stories on subjects ranging from innovations in cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery to many other types of elective medical procedures."

"We also place many stories on procedures that may have been available for
some time, by focusing upon an interesting element that has been missed by
the media."

Gary Grasso is the president of Doctor's PR, a public relations & publicity agency that has provided practice development and public relations services for health care professionals across the United States. The agency has specialized in the
medical communications field for twelve years, representing a client list of physicians practicing in a number of specialties. Recent news stories and interviews generated by the company include the latest developments in medical imaging, orthopedic surgery, cosmetic procedures such as the FotoFacial and the ThreadLift, LASIK and cataract eye procedures, and the latest treatments for rehabilitation of stroke patients.

Clients who advertise report a significant increase in ad response when their advertising is complimented with effective news coverage and public relations, Grasso says.