What are Patient Education Seminars?

Patient education seminars are events put on by healthcare professionals, typically in partnership with a medical device or pharmaceutical company, to educate patients and potential patients. They might be open-house style, a 2-to-4 hour event or any style.

Medical device companies and pharmaceutical businesses want to help the medical community educate and serve patients. After all, educated patients become delighted buyers. Whether you’re a VP of Marketing or the Sales Director of a device manufacturer, or you’re a marketing specialist working for a healthcare practice, patient education seminars may already be part of your strategic plan.

While they aren’t new – plastic surgeons and weight-loss specialists are the front-runners – open-house patient education seminars are certainly growing in popularity. In fact, other specialties including dentists, specialized doctors in fields like orthopedics and fertility, along with ophthalmologists and others have realized that in-person seminars are one of the most effective ways to keep existing patients engaged with your practice, and to get new patients in the door.

These educational, friendly events give doctors a chance to share their expertise and make personal connections with people from the community in a relaxed setting, which can directly impact patients’ care decisions.

It’s not a sales pitch, but an authentic way to connect with the community while showcasing options for procedures patients are looking for.

As you consider new ways to reach patients in the community, and educational seminars hits your radar, keep a few things in mind to find success.

Ease Fears with “Scary” Procedures

A lot of procedures seem scary to the general public. One way to generate interest and make real connections is to ease those fears with authentic. helpful events.

For instance, laser eye surgery like LASIK or cataract surgery may cause anxiety in many folks. At least, they used to. Now, events like “LASIK Without Fear” or “New, Painless Options to Treat Cataracts” seminars have made these less scary.

With the increase of web content like Web M.D. and YouTube videos, many in the general public are seeing information that may not be so helpful. You can correct that, building trust.

You may need to enlist the help of smart marketers – a well-chosen seminar title and compelling copy to promote it can attract attendees. Skip the boring “All About Porcelain Fillings” and “Urology Treatments.” Go for more creative titles like “Replacing Metal Fillings without Pain” or “Fear Urology Treatments No More.”

Use Digital and Analog Tools Together for Outreach

Marketing technology has exploded in recent years. There are about a million solutions for “getting the word out” about events and businesses. It can be overwhelming.

In-person seminars are great because they offer something the web can’t: High-quality, targeted patient education from a trained health professional. That said, you need to make your patient seminars enticing if you want to lure people away from their screens and into your office.

You don’t have to do everything. You can start small, test and build. Also, social media isn’t the only way to reach people. You can still put tried and true ways to work for your event outreach.

Of course, social media, Google, email and YouTube have given us easier access to information as consumers, and greater access to the public as businesses, so using the tools available only makes sense.

Marrying the new and the old will set you apart from your competition. Using Facebook ads for awareness in a specific geographical area with direct mail to that specific ZIP code can be an effective one-two punch. Put a call center with real human beings in the mix and you have a great formula for building trust with patients and potential clients.

When it comes to getting that word out, word-of-mouth is often the most effective way to publicize an upcoming patient education seminar. Empower your staff and patients to spread the word to their friends with hard copy invitations and digital assets. Also, post an announcement on your practice web page and social media accounts. Provide an email address so people can register that way and you can collect their email addresses for future communications.

We All Love Free!

Goody bags, food, and drinks… oh my!

We all like to get something for free. Some practices give seminar attendees goody bags with product samples, brochures, and other small gifts. Depending on the time of day, you can serve wine and cheese, coffee and muffins, craft beer and artisan pizza or other light refreshments. This will give people a chance to relax and socialize, and the cost is nominal compared to the revenue you may bring in from new patients.

If you’re thinking a patient education seminar may fit into your plan for building your practice, download the event template below. It’s a do-it-yourself solution to putting on a great event.

 
Seminar photo by rawpixel on Unsplash 
Digital/analog photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash