3 Types of Technology Changing Doctors Offices Forever

Some industries change as quickly as the times, chasing fads and “innovation” wherever it leads them. While Silicon Valley firms have specialty labs churning out self-driving cars and virtual reality, other fields are slower to change, like the legal or medical field. Ultimately, visiting your doctor or lawyer isn’t so different in 2016 as it was 10 years ago.

Even so, there are some technological innovations that are changing doctors’ offices forever, at least behind the scenes. Here are just a few of the biggest ways new technologies are shaping medical practices of the future.

Electronic Records

For decades, doctors, physicians assistants, and other healthcare professionals have complained that they were drowning in paperwork. Records, files, notes, insurance information, patient surveys, and more. Yet even after the rest of the world went digital, many medical offices lagged behind. Not because they were luddites, but because of intense privacy laws that require healthcare professionals to keep patient information top secret. But slowly, records have started to be computerized. Now, many doctors can even order prescriptions online.

Doctors: Not Immune From Online Marketing

The same way every other small business has no choice but to operate a website, websites for doctors are no exception. If you want to stay in business in 2016, you need a website, even if that’s not the main way you gain business. Not only do 75% of us admit to judging a company’s credibility based on their website, but at least 40% of us will ditch any site that takes more than three measly seconds to load. Without a functional website design, patients might not trust you enough to schedule an appointment.

It’s not enough to have a website, though. You also have to make sure people can find it, too. A recent study by OutBrain found that search engines drove the most traffic to websites. In other words, doctor’s office administrators and practice managers now need to add search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC), healthcare website design, and so much more to their list of duties.

Medical Referral Tracking Software

For many healthcare companies looking to bring extra income to their practice, medical referral tracking software has become another essential technological tool. Now, more medical companies are relying on these types of tracking systems. Not only has referral tracking software been shown to improve SEO efforts, but they also save administrators valuable time.

Medical referral tracking software has four main steps. First, affiliates drive traffic to your site; then, prospective customers make purchases; commissions are divided; and finally, the process repeats itself.

If you have any questions, feel free to share in the comments.