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100.1 Introduction

The physician–patient relationship has always been an essential element of wellness and healing. In today’s digital environment, that relationship has taken on a new form where patients interact with their physicians like never before. Their expectations are high, fueled by their Internet-driven research. Additionally, empowered by online review sites and message forums to have a voice, patients are encouraged to demand more, oftentimes leading to unrealistic and sometimes uneducated expectations. Therefore, their satisfaction, as it relates to treatment, pre- and postoperative support, and their overall experience, can have a profound effect on the reputation as well as the overall success of your practice.

Physicians may instinctively assume they should emulate the marketing tactics of those who at one time dominated this space and had the most traction in gaining consumer attention. However, success today requires more than being brand focused; you must be patient centric. Whichever marketing strategists and entities create and manage your brand’s digital face must have a deep, intimate understanding of the unique emotional needs of the hair loss patient.

Too often, traditional marketing firms produce content that does not aptly represent your practice and online image. Think linear television or print advertising. In the digital landscape, this style of marketing diminishes your ability to build relevant online relationships with patients.

A company’s strongest asset is consumer attention, and the Internet owns it. It is time to accept traditional, in-your-face marketing is not as effective as it used to be and may instead create the wrong image. Social media and emerging mobile technologies have forever changed the landscape of human interaction and in turn how consumers make decisions.

This prologue is not meant to criticize. The goal is to guide hair transplant surgeons and practice administrators toward greater understanding to meet their patients’ needs, while also effectively managing their online reputations, capturing consumer attention, and growing their brand with the dignity and respect this discipline of medicine deserves in today’s information-rich and extremely competitive digital world.

100.2 Why Physicians Have Such Trouble Untangling the Web

Nothing has more fundamentally changed the practice of medicine than the Internet—and doctors cannot control it. In most specialties, information has traditionally flowed directly from doctor to patient. But it seems the digital world has upended this traditional relationship. The web provides virtually unlimited amounts of information, including articles published in medical or industry journals, as well as conflicting viewpoints and analyses of these publications. The unfettered access to information laymen are unprepared to accurately interpret has produced greater market confusion and greater dangers for prospective patients. Patients do not know what is true, safe, and effective, hindering both their abilities to make informed decisions and for top surgeons to compete.

Even more disturbing is that some of the loudest voices on the Internet are not those with a desire to authentically distribute accurate and unbiased information. Instead, many are either recipients of old-school hair transplants who are anti-industry, recent patients dissatisfied with treatment for varying reasons, online trolls intentionally trying to disrupt and misinform, or even clinic reps anonymously posting false information to drive patients away from their competition. These loud voices continue to proliferate with impunity on several toxic online patient communities and blogs, filled with anonymous, unmoderated, and unvetted testimonials as well as unverified complaints.

While this legal framework immunizes forum owners and review sites from legal liability—no matter how egregious or verifiably defamatory the speech—online message forums are private property and owners, not users, make the rules. Owners and moderators set the tone of the environment; sadly, some choose to exploit the CDA, cloaking their true motives under the umbrella of transparency and the protection of freedom of speech, leaving both patients and physicians vulnerable.

The author supports platforms that educate and empower patients honestly and effectively, those that enforce a strong moderation policy to discourage toxic, unproductive behavior. These platforms are vital to the future of the hair transplant industry. On the author’s platform, any anonymous public complaint about a physician or clinic must be privately verified before going live on the forum.

Most in the field recognize an online presence is mandatory to remain relevant, but too many see the Internet as a necessary evil rather than the empowering technological vehicle it can be. If you make the right choices, you can control it to a much greater extent, directly enhancing your practice and benefiting your patients.