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Competition for new patients over the Internet is heating up. The Internet offers the quickest way to market just about anything to hundreds of thousands of people all at once. If you do not already have a website, you should seriously consider creating one. But what should you include in your website?

Here are a few suggestions:

1.  State your practice philosophies for dealing with patient care and medical care.

2.  List the insurance plans that you are a member of.

3.  Include information regarding you and your credentials. If you are part of a group, list each doctor's

     information.

4.  Include any papers you have written, but make sure to rewrite them so that they can be easily

     understood.

5.  List events that people may want to know about such as the addition of a new physician, seminars

     that you or your partners are giving, new services or coverage and so on.

6.  Provide current medical information.

7.  Give directions to your office.

8.  Let your new patients know if you provide complementary and alternative medicine services.

9.  Keep your website seasonal by focusing on seasonal ailments that your practice treats.

10. If you have a newsletter, post it on the website.

There is a lot of information that you can include on your website. The idea is to keep it relatively short but informative. You want your site to be user-friendly and interactive, not busy.

When designing your website, make sure that navigating it is easy. Do not create backgrounds that are difficult on the eyes and don't overuse animation. This can lead to a decrease in the number of people visiting your site.

One potential benefit to having an interactive website is that it can allow patients to make online appointments. Patients can access your schedule and find out when the doctor is available. They can ask to schedule an appointment for a specified time slot. Your office staff can confirm the appointment immediately online, by e-mail or by phone.

Another benefit of an interactive website is that patients can fill out forms from home before coming in for their appointments. This can save a lot of staff time.

Make sure that your website is updated as new information is available for patients, but at least once a month. No one likes a dull website that rarely changes. Link your site to medical/healthcare directories as well as local and state entities.

Finally, remember to add your website address to all of your printed materials. This includes business cards, letterhead, brochures, newsletters and any other marketing tool with your practice's name on it.

The Internet can be a powerful marketing tool if used correctly. The potential to recruit new patients this way is endless, as are the benefits for your current patients. With technological advances being made every day, now is the best time as any to jump on the Information Superbandwagon.