Provide your patients with the latest and most cutting edge health information via e-mail
Introduction
Managing a healthcare clinic today can be hard. With Medicare rebates not changing much over many years and with costs increasing, it is important to look at other sources of revenue that are not linked to Medicare. Often clinics charge a gap fee, but then this can reduce your patient base due to the inability of many people to pay for healthcare. Cutting support staff can help reduce costs but decreases the quality of service provided by the clinic. All options have a negative impact as to how the business can function.
In the age when technology has revolutionised many industries, healthcare seems to be lagging behind. In 1996, the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, famously quoted that “Content is king”. He self-reflected and made a forecast that the future of the internet will be a marketplace for content. Slowly, there are a growing number of health professionals who are starting to embrace this concept and use content and internet marketing strategies to grow their clinics. This includes the utilisation of online directory listings, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), website blogs, YouTube videos, Google Ads, Instagram and Facebook Ads. Clinics who are forward thinking can develop systems that generate revenue not linked to Medicare.
Communicate with your patients outside of the clinic's office
At HealthAide, our ethos is that healthcare will become remote and accessible. We see how healthcare is slowly changing and have insight into opportunities that can easily benefit the service provided by the clinic.
Through our internet marketing department, we offer solutions that give you lines of communication with your patient, such that they can be informed of health information or call to actions by the clinic, with the means to generate revenue and ultimately improve patient care. Call to actions include how to see a Physiotherapist or Psychologist under medicare.
Encourage your patients to adopt healthy behaviours
We optimise the use of an email newsletter as a simple tool to meet the needs of your patient and your clinic. We are lucky to have access to a library of mainstream health and health technology resources to populate personalised newsletters that can be sent to your patient base. It enables you as a clinic to communicate with your patients, outside of the clinic and gives them resources to access that have been identified by your clinical team.
Our service will help your patients stay up to date with the latest and most cutting edge health information, without you having to do the heavy lifting.
Our systems are set up such that there is minimal work from you as a clinic with the opportunity to create income streams. We will also work with you to ensure your digital marketing plans are in compliance with national privacy and security laws, Spam Act (2003) laws, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) advertising guidelines.
What the healthcare business experts think about our approach?
Australian GP clinic business expert Dr Todd Cameron, from Scale My Clinic, has advised that “Communication to our patients is not about us or our business but about our patients. How can we best serve them? Best to start by asking what they’d like communicated, how often and by what channel".
Australian physiotherapy clinic business coach Nicholas Schuster, from The Ultimate Physio, argues that “Marketing teaches us that it is 7 times more cost effective to re engage with an existing client than to generate a new client through paid advertising. But how do you speak to your existing clients without appearing salesy? Content marketing really is king. Through original content like newsletters and focussing on the various health issues they see you for, you have an opportunity to catch their attention in a non salesy way.”
So why is HealthAide recommending patient targeted e-mail newsletters to GP and allied health clinics?
There are multiple reasons as to why HealthAide recommends the use of this method of patient engagement as a starting point:
- Unlike traditional advertising, newsletters generally do not appear self-serving, as each issue is usually produced with a theme containing useful and relevant health information.
- An increase in market competition and the need to differentiate healthcare services as well as improving patient loyalty.
- The growth of software tools which make publishing and distributing digital newsletters much easier to do.
- An increase in the number of clinics collecting patient e-mail addresses.
- An increase in patient interest in clinic’s communicating to them outside of the consultation rooms regarding preventative and chronic disease health tips and service updates.
- Advanced data analytical tools enable you to track opening rates, behavioural trends, predictive demographic data and various other variables.
- They enhance your clinic’s trust, reputation and brand.
- They are an inexpensive form of lead generation.
- They provide instantaneous trackable results.
- They are cost efficient compared to printed newsletters.
We currently serve an increasingly number of primary care clinics in Australia namely, GP and allied health clinic groups. These clinic owners and managers are interested in either optimising their existing e-mail content marketing campaigns, or turning their patient base into a commercial asset for the first time, while improving health outcomes.
So what is the Return on Investment for every dollar spent on e-mail marketing?
Recently, the Direct Marketing Association published a report called Marketing Email Tracker 2019, which showed that the Return on Investment (ROI) on e-mail marketing is rising with time, and currently stands at $42 for every dollar spent.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Is patient information private and secure?
Yes, as we do not handle your patient information and therefore do not have access to your databases. We provide you with the customised designs and content, recommend the software tools and facilitate the process. We do not manage your e-mail list.
2. Am I legally allowed to send my patients e-mail newsletters?
Not unless there is "implied" or "inferred" consent complying with the Spam Act 2003 laws. This suggests that there is an existing business relationship, where there is a reasonable expectation of receiving commercial electronic messages. We can provide you with general but non-legal advice regarding these matters.
3. How do I accumulate an e-mail list?
We can guide you through this process having successfully implemented our systems in multiple medical and allied health practices in Australia.
4. Can I customise the newsletters?
Yes, absolutely. You can add any special details such as promotions, opening hours and new services you would the targeted audience to be exposed to. As part of our service, we will send you a draft e-mail newsletter for review and revisions before it is sent out to your patients. Please note that we highly recommend that the themed content should not be tampered with as extensive digital media expert input, A/B split testing, and data analytics have been applied to ensure that patient engagement and opening rates are optimised. If you do however to wish to alter it, we will not be able to provide you with any predictive analytics or useful insights that may help future newsletter issues, as there are no controlled studies.
5. Do I have to have sponsors or advertisers on my newsletters?
No, it is completely up to you. However, if you do choose to have complementary business sponsors or advertisers, you will receive an ongoing profit share.
6. Can I choose the sponsors or advertisers on my newsletter?
Yes, absolutely. It is your clinic's newsletter - so you personalise it in terms of whatever you feel is appropriate for your clinic's professional image and patient's interests.
7. Why should you choose HealthAide?
We are practice owners and practicing health professional ourselves, so we deeply understand the challenges you experience on a daily practice, managing your practice and staff, and treating patients.
In addition, we are a truly forward thinking and innovative team, who have deep experience and track record in engaging health clinics and practitioners in the use of technology, to improve patient outcomes, clinical administration and business performance. We also love health technology!
Applying our extensive primary care clinical experience in behavioural change and leveraging the latest tools in data analytics, we will also assist you in content curation, business growth and encouraging healthy patient behaviours. For the tech savvy or curious, feel free to visit our CEO's LinkedIn blog post to learn more.
In 2019, HealthAide was selected as one of the "10 Most Disruptive AI Companies in Healthcare" by a global AI and analytics publication Analytical Insights.
8. Why should you trust our content?
We source the most up-to-date and accurate content from trusted information resources such as from governmental, non-for-profit, academic and professional peak body websites. Nonetheless, to make things more exciting and interesting, we add our own vision of the future of healthcare to it. Patient-centred health technology is rising in popularity. We showcase the best products, to keep your patients engaged and provide them with great opportunities to improve their health. We have private access to a curated list of thousands of articles.
9. How will HealthAide be using AI?
It is important to note that HealthAide will be not using AI to generate content as a form of medical information. It is simply using AI to assist clinics have a better understanding of what type of health content is trending relevant to your patients, and what potential future needs may need to be met by your clinic. Feel free to visit the article by Dr Clint Steele, our Head of Data Analytics if you would like to learn in more detail on "The Use of AI by HealthAide".
10. Can I request a sample e-mail newsletter?
Absolutely. We will be happy to send you a sample e-mail newsletter based on your clinical service mix and specialty. We also highly encourage you to compare the quality and feel of our newsletters to alternative choices in the market.
11. Do I need any tools to push out the newsletters?
Yes, you will need to sign up to either Campaign Monitor or MailChimp. Our content formatting is compatible with both of these software solutions. You can also use these tools on any occasion to communicate to your patient lists content that may be out of the scope of this service, if you decide to write your own newsletters from time to time.
12. Can I add a newsletter subscribe link on our clinic's website?
Yes, absolutely. This is an effective way to attract prospective patients to your clinic who may be interested to learn more about your clinic before deciding to make an initial appointment.
HealthAide currently serves over 25,000 patients via e-mail in Australia since November 2019
Our Offer
- Prices for our monthly e-mail newsletters services start from just $50 per month.
- Quarterly packages which includes 3 semi-customised newsletters start from $225.
- We also offer no lock-in contract month to month semi-customised newsletter packages from $95.
- Fully customised newsletter content will need to be individually quoted.
- Local business advertising/sponsorship revenue sharing arrangements available upon request.
The HealthAide Customer Guarantee
We are committed to being a customer-obsessed organisation, and being your first choice in health media. If you are not 100% satisfied with a monthly newsletter provided by HealthAide, we will refund your money for that month and provide you with an extra monthly newsletter for free.
Some of our existing customers include:
Customer Testimonials
"I have had over 20 years experience owning, operating and consulting for Australian GP clinics. HealthAide's digital media service uniquely provides GP reviewed expert health content and call to actions for e-mail newsletters. I highly value health promotions and content marketing using e-mail as a tool however I am too busy to choose, curate and create content to make this happen in reality. These monthly e-mail newsletters have proven to optimise billings at my GP clinics, and promote higher value services - particularly for patients who present with chronic diseases who need additional allied health services - about 20% of our patient population. The first chronic pain themed newsletter quickly booked out our physiotherapist within 1 week of the push out, when he was about 50% full at the time. I highly recommend this service to GP clinics who are serious about providing holistic care, and are looking to provide a real point of difference in their local community." - Paul Soloviev, Director of Clinical Services, Great Practice (multi group of GP clinics in Victoria including Acland Street Medical Centre, Fitzroy Street Medical Centre and Mentone General Practice), and Medi7, Medical Educator, DoctorDoctor
“HealthAide has revolutionised the way I communicate with clients. The content powered and produced by HealthAide is cutting edge and current, giving my clients state of the art newsletters delivered monthly to their inbox from my clinic. The ability to personalise the email content is a powerful and effective way to engage with clients with articles and treatments relevant to my practice and services we provide. Of course, I could research and write the content myself however for $50 per monthly newsletter, it is not worth it when I could be treating patients and earning more. HealthAide's service has produced an amazing ROI for me. Within the first hour of pushing out the "Running" themed newsletter, I had 10 online bookings from the promotional offer. I highly recommend HealthAide to lead your practice content into the future.” - Jack Perisa, Specialist Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist (as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists)
FACP, Titled APA Sports & Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist; Practice Principal at Lane Cove Physio & Hydrotherapy (Lane Cove, NSW)
We are committed to being a customer-obsessed organisation, and being your first choice in health media. If you are not 100% satisfied with a monthly newsletter provided by HealthAide, we will refund your money for that month and provide you with an extra monthly newsletter for free.
Some of our existing customers include:
- Eaton Central Family Practice
- Acland Street Medical Centre
- Ringwood Family Medical Centre
- CityMed Medical Centre
- Lane Cave Physiotherapy & Hydrotherapy Centre
- Acland Street Allied Health
Customer Testimonials
"I have had over 20 years experience owning, operating and consulting for Australian GP clinics. HealthAide's digital media service uniquely provides GP reviewed expert health content and call to actions for e-mail newsletters. I highly value health promotions and content marketing using e-mail as a tool however I am too busy to choose, curate and create content to make this happen in reality. These monthly e-mail newsletters have proven to optimise billings at my GP clinics, and promote higher value services - particularly for patients who present with chronic diseases who need additional allied health services - about 20% of our patient population. The first chronic pain themed newsletter quickly booked out our physiotherapist within 1 week of the push out, when he was about 50% full at the time. I highly recommend this service to GP clinics who are serious about providing holistic care, and are looking to provide a real point of difference in their local community." - Paul Soloviev, Director of Clinical Services, Great Practice (multi group of GP clinics in Victoria including Acland Street Medical Centre, Fitzroy Street Medical Centre and Mentone General Practice), and Medi7, Medical Educator, DoctorDoctor
“HealthAide has revolutionised the way I communicate with clients. The content powered and produced by HealthAide is cutting edge and current, giving my clients state of the art newsletters delivered monthly to their inbox from my clinic. The ability to personalise the email content is a powerful and effective way to engage with clients with articles and treatments relevant to my practice and services we provide. Of course, I could research and write the content myself however for $50 per monthly newsletter, it is not worth it when I could be treating patients and earning more. HealthAide's service has produced an amazing ROI for me. Within the first hour of pushing out the "Running" themed newsletter, I had 10 online bookings from the promotional offer. I highly recommend HealthAide to lead your practice content into the future.” - Jack Perisa, Specialist Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist (as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists)
FACP, Titled APA Sports & Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist; Practice Principal at Lane Cove Physio & Hydrotherapy (Lane Cove, NSW)