Connecting Patients with the Right Physician
Two Insurance Companies Verses ZocDoc
Ross KopelmanMBS graduate
Tufts University
Who , What, and Where?Scenario: My friend Joe has a painful palpable lump on the right side
of his neck. He hasn’t been to a primary physician in over 5 years so he is not quite sure what the problem is, which kind of doctor to consult and if this doctor practices in close proximity to where he works or resides.
Examining two major health insurance web sites compared to ZocDoc a physician appointment scheduling site
I pose the question: Which company does the best job of helping their insurance subscribers to navigate their websites to identify the correct physician for their specific medical problem within a designated geographic area ? United Health Care Blue Cross ZocDoc
United Health Care
Mission “is to help people live healthier lives by supporting
the physician/patient relationship and empower people with the information, guidance and tools they need to make personal health choices and decisions”
Have they fulfilled their mission statement?
www.uhc.com
United Heath Care Web Strategy for connecting patients to physicians
Allows patients to make very basic searches for conditions but the feature does not always work
No physician profiles
Mobile application
Social Media Usage Facebook Twitter
United Heath Care SWOT AnalysisStrengths
• Ability to compare multiple physicians•Provides tools to narrow down search to help patient pinpoint the right doctor
Weaknesses• No use of social media for the physician profiles•Inability to book an appointment directly from the website•Weak social media presence•Won’t allow patient to search based on the symptom – maybe because they want you to go to a primary care doctor
Opportunities• Improve the physician profiles•Provide patient feedback of the physicians
Threats• better navigation tools to find the right doctor
Recommendations for United Health Care
Improve the physician comparison by incorporating patient feedback comments
Make it easier to search for a physician directly from the homepage
BlueCross BlueShield
Mission: “to help (patients) make the right choices, to offer
valuable coverage, and help you get quality health care for you and those you love.”
www.bcbs.com
BlueCross BlueShields Web Strategy
User friendly interfaces for both internet and mobile app usage
Social Media Twitter Facebook Google +
Profiles for physicians
Mobile application
BlueCross BlueShields Web Strategy
BlueCross BlueShields SWOT Analysis
Strengths:• User friendly interface for both mobile and internet
Weaknesses:• Won’t allow patient to search based on the symptom – maybe because they want you to go to a primary care doctor
Opportunities: • allowing users to book appointments with physicians on the internet or through mobile usage•Increase social media presence
Threats:• patients want to take control what physician that they see and the rates between companies don’t vary that much so they must maintain a user friendly interface and continue to make it easy for the patient to find the right physician
Recommendations for BlueCross BlueShields
Connect physician profiles with social media pages which will reinforce the importance of a patient/physician relationship
Integrate online booking into their mobile application and internet site
Increase use of Social Media for the BlueCross BlueShields brand
ZocDoc
Mission: Is to improve access to healthcare by allowing patients to
find and book an appointment with a nearby doctor who accepts their insurance
"ZocDoc is used by 2.5 million+ patients to book appointments with a wide range of medical specialties across 1,600+ cities – serving more than 40% of the US population. Target audience: health policy researchers, policymakers, state and federal government officials, healthcare organizations, and the media “
www.zocdoc.com
ZocDoc Web Strategy for connecting patients to physicians
User friendly interfaces for both internet and mobile app usage
Social Media to promote the ZocDoc brand but also a social media approach for the physicians that are listed on the site Twitter – @zocdoc Facebook Google plus Blog (only for zocdoc not for physicians)
Distribution RSS Feeds Newsletters Youtube
Profiles for physicians
Mobile application
ZocDoc Web Strategy
ZocDoc SWOT AnalysisStrengths• User friendly interfaces for both internet and mobile usage•Easily book appointments online•Provides patient feedback of physician•Focus on their strength which is helping a patient to easily find the right doctor•Strong social media presence on twitter, facebook, and Google plus
Weaknesses• System is bias because physicians pay to be listed•Bias also might be present in the patient comments left for each physician•Don’t list all sub-specialties•Doesn’t all regions
Opportunities• System to help patients determine which doctor would be ideal to see given their current medical condition
Threats• competition from competitors that could easily copy the flow of their website
Recommendations for ZocDoc
Provide a physician comparison system for the patients
Encourage physicians not listed on ZocDoc to start an online account and provide them with service for free for a month
Allow each physician profile to have a blog component which will grow the content on the site and allow for the search crawlers to pick them up etc
Web Strategy ComparisonFeature
United Health Care
BlueCross BlueShield
ZocDoc
Facebook √ √ √
Twitter √ √ √
Blog √ √
Google Plus √ √
Physician Customized Profile √ √
Mobile application √ √ √
Ability to book appointments from internet
√
Ability to book appointments from mobile app
√
Conclusion
All three sites do not assist the patient in finding the doctor best suited to care for their problem
There is an assumption that going to a specialist is going to cost the insurance company more money so these companies purposely do not let the patient bypass primary care physicians by navigating independently to specialists
This may? not be a cost saving measure because the initial visit to the PCP may add an additional layer of expense
Any Questions?Thank you for your time and attention!
Top Related