Practice Websites That Reduce Phone Calls

Reception is answering the website's job

Fees, whether you are taking new patients, how to register, what to bring, where to park. All of it should be on the site and usually is not.

Count the calls reception takes in a week that a webpage could have answered. In most practices it is the majority of them.

What to publish

1. A complete fee list, current, with what is included
2. Registration — whether you are open to new patients and how to join
3. What to expect at a first appointment
4. Practical detail — parking, access, what to bring
5. Emergency and out-of-hours arrangements, prominently

The clinical content line

Publishing general information about treatments is fine and useful. Anything that could be read as advice for an individual is not.

Keep the site informational and route anything specific to a clinician.

Compliance and accessibility

• Regulatory information your governing body requires displayed
• Complaints procedure published
• Accessibility taken seriously — your patients particularly need it
• Privacy notice covering appointment enquiries and any forms

Do not collect health information in forms

A general enquiry form should not ask about symptoms or conditions. That turns your website database into a health record with all the obligations attached.

Route clinical questions to a phone call or a secure channel designed for it.

Frequently asked questions