Should doctors have a website?

It is now becoming imperative for a Doctor to have a website. With the Medical tourism industry taking off, Internet is the most turned to source for getting medical information and searching for a doctor. For an overseas patient, it is most comforting to put a face to a name and also see pictures of the clinic / hospital facilities.
Some doctors fear that having a website may be seen as advertising, it should be best understood as the only way of educating patients and facilitating useful information. Doctor can “refer” patients to your website at the end of the consultation, so they can educate themselves. It has also been found useful in imparting knowledge on post operative care to the patients. For doctors in private practice, the website provides value-added services for the existing and new patients, by providing details as to the timings of the clinic and how to get to the clinic. Doctors could also offer convenience of getting online appointment and accessing patient records. It is also a very powerful tool for enabling contact between Doctor and Patient.While having a website is one thing, Doctors must have realistic expectations of what their website can do for them. In India, the number of Internet users is not yet as high as in the USA, so Doctors should not expect patients to start pouring immediately with the website goes live. Just having a website is not enough – remember that there are over a million websites out there. Doctors need to promote their website actively. Online promotion usually means registering the site with all the relevant search engines, so people can “find” you. Today the “Online Social Media” also plays an important role. Having cross linking with popular health portals can help patients get access to your website. Offline promotion plays a very important role. Having the web URL on your Visiting Card / Prescription and in the waiting area can be very useful.
Today, getting a website does not cost much. You could get a website listing for as low as Rs. 2500/- and a website with own domain for about Rs. 5000/-. Many doctors do go in for a custom made website which can cost anything between Rs. 15000/- to Rs 50,000/- depending on the functionalities being provided and the team developing it. Developing a website and maintaining it can be time consuming and is better left to the professionals. There are many companies developing websites in India, but then there are a few that specialize in healthcare domain. Mansai Media (www.mansaimedia.com/medicalwebsite ) is one such company. The company offers not only websites but also doctors listing. Basic listing for the doctors comes free of cost. The company also takes up assignments to create a professional image for your clinic which includes logo and stationery design.