Category: Marketing

Maximising your online presence

Posted on April 4, 2025 by - Accounting, Blog, Communication, Latest News, Marketing, Practice management, Resources

Having a strong online presence is of high importance for any medical practice. Approximately 75% of patients now search online by speciality/surgeon when looking for a specialist, or before attending a consultation (Source: RACS Prep for Practice)

See our five recommendations for boosting your online presence.

Create a User-Friendly Website

Websites do not need to be highly complicated, it’s important for the site to be easy for patients and referrers to navigate. In our experience, what is most important is to ensure that your website has clear information about your services, location and how people can contact you. Make sure that your contact phone number is in a prominent and easy to find position – usually in the top-right hand corner.

Use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO helps your website show up when people search for your specific field of practice. Simple things, such as using the right keywords and relevant content, make a big difference in getting noticed by potential patients and referrers. We find that having plenty of relevant content helps you be found organically on search engines.

Utilise Google My Business & Online Listings

Take advantage of free online listing tools such as Google My Business. This helps your practice show up in search results when patients are looking for local medical services. Please note, listings sites such as Google My Business can open you up to public reviews and can be hard to remove, though they can be a great tool, be aware of this before proceeding.

Consider Social Media

Staying active and being consistent on social media helps you connect with your community and show a more personal side to the practice, which patients like to see. It’s not about having a huge following, but to have an educational focus and a presence for patients to find you. AHPRA guidelines are very str ict for doctors on social media, be aware of the protocols before commencing to avoid getting into hot water.

Write Regular Blog Posts

Blogging is a great way to share your expertise and provide valuable information to your patients and referrers. Writing about common questions/conditions can improve your SEO and help build trust with your audience.

Proceed with caution

While online presence tools can be an effective way to promote your practice, any online content published under your brand will be subject to strict AHPRA guidelines. For more information on what you can and cannot post, speak with the RWS marketing team who have been navigating this space for over 20 years.

The RWS website, branding and marketing teams are here to help new and established specialists create and boost their online presence. Call 1300 073 239 to speak with the team.

Emergency preparation

Posted on April 4, 2025 by - Accounting, Blog, Communication, Latest News, Marketing, Practice management, Resources

After the recent events in Queensland, it’s important for every practice to have a contingency plan in case things go wrong. Here are five helpful tips to make sure that your practice is covered in case of an emergency:  

Make sure your phones are covered 

Having a phone coverage plan in the event of an emergency, such as Temporary Telephone Diversion (TTD) service or having phones that are operable from home (VOIP Phone), helps you stay contactable to your patients.  

Have a Work From Home (WFH) Policy in place 

If your staff can’t come into work, it’s important to have a WFH policy in place to tick the boxes with OHS and Fair Work. This includes having a WFH policy, procedure and an ergonomic checklist.  

Have an action plan to inform patients 

Be proactive in contacting patients to advise whether their appointments have been rescheduled or switched to telehealth.  

Update your website 

Making sure your website reflects your up-to-date operating hours is important so that your patients and referrers stay in the loop. It’s also important to make this very hard to miss when someone jumps onto your website. 

Guarantee the security of your belongings 

Develop a plan as to how you’re going to protect the assets of the practice, such as expensive medical equipment. Maintaining a list of local emergency services, as well as your insurance provider, helps you stay efficient should a critical situation arise. 

If you need a hand to create contingency plans in the event of an emergency, RWS can help! Feel free to give us a call on 1300 073 239 to organise a consultation. 

Closing or winding down your private practice

Posted on January 31, 2025 by - Blog, Communication, Latest News, Marketing, Practice management, Resources

With over 20 years of experience in helping specialists, RWS can assist with all areas of your business, including closing or winding down your private practice. Whatever the reason may be, we understand what’s involved and help you ‘tick the box’ with what is required by the authoritative bodies.  

How We Help You Wind Down 

As we are up to date on the latest information from RACS, AHPRA, AMA, your medical software providers and indemnity assurer, RWS creates a bespoke “plan of action” for each of our doctors ensuring that all needs and wants are met.  

 The goal is for every step to be completed in a professional and timely manner, so you know that you have concluded your journey in private practice with a high regard for compliance and professionalism. 

What areas do we cover in relation to practice closure? 

We cover an extensive list of tasks that are required to close or wind down a practice, including but not limited to:  

  • Actions and timeline
  • Patient letters
  • Referrer letters  
  • Practice phone messages  
  • Website notification  
  • Staff obligations  
  • Handover to a new doctor  
  • CPD requirements  
  • Insurance considerations 
  • Calculating practice worth  
  • Indemnity coverage  
  • Social media notification  
  • Catchment notification  
  • Equipment disposal  
  • Patient record management  
  • Software closure process  
  • Patient file storage 

Getting Started 

The first step is to let us know you need some assistance in winding down your practice. We then arrange a time to meet, where we discuss the fundamentals of closing your practice and create your bespoke action plan.  

Closing your private practice is a challenging journey to undertake, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. Trust the experienced RWS team to handle the details with the professionalism and care that your patients, referrers and you deserve.  

PodMD is live!

Posted on September 20, 2018 by - Communication, Marketing

PodMD creates medical podcasts by doctors for doctors. It is a joint initiative between Dr Sean Mackay, (Melbourne-based upper GI surgeon) and Caroline Chaplin, (Director of RWS).

RWS Featured in NAB Business View

Posted on September 20, 2018 by - Marketing, Staff Profiles

If you get a chance to see the Winter issue of NAB’s Business View you’ll see Caroline Chaplin smiling at you from page 35.

The article “Why I do what I do” talks to five company heads, including Caroline, about what it is that drives them to do what they do. An interesting read.

Are you using your blog?

Posted on November 30, 2022 by - Blog, Communication, Marketing

Medical Blog

Are your rankings poor?
Maybe it’s because your competitors are blogging and you are not!

Writing regular posts is not only a great way to communicate with your patient base and referrers, it’s also an effective tool for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and in turn driving traffic to your site. When ranking websites Google favours those which have plenty of well-written relevant content.

Referrer Marketing – getting referrers and retaining them

Posted on October 21, 2015 by - Communication, Marketing, Practice management

Referrals are the lifeblood of your practice. It is of the utmost importance that you have systems in place to monitor and manage your referrer relationships. Appropriate medical marketing is crucial in the competitive environment of private practice.
We see many doctors who are paying the price for taking their eye off the ball, and not paying attention to their medical marketing. It is devastating to find your numbers dropping because others around you are marketing more efficiently. Don’t let this happen to you.

Build your specialist profile with PODMD

Posted on April 19, 2018 by - Communication, Marketing

RWS are now creating Medical Podcasts, allowing surgeons and specialists to educate doctors on topics of interest to your referrer base.

A Medical Podcast builds your professional profile by showcasing your specialist expertise, improving communication within the medical industry, and further strengthening relationships with your referrer base.