Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic Unveils Nation’s First Video-Driven, Social Media Tool-Laden Online Platform for a Physician Group

Bolder Health teamed with Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic to launch the nation’s first video-driven online platform for a physician group that delivers the newest social media tools.

Both Orlando-based companies conferred on the project to build an online community that highlights physician video biographies, editorial style patient success stories, exclusive wellness features, community involvement celebrations, and blogs.

“We absolutely love it,” said Page Heyward, marketing director for Jewett. “It brings our webpage to life, spreads our message virally, introduces our physicians to prospective patients and features the most powerful marketing tool we have: satisfied patients.”

TV personalities Marc Middleton and Bill Shafer, who co-founded Bolder Health, were polishing the company’s market differentiator product—Integrated Community Platform (ICP)—after identifying healthcare as a key strategic growth area when they shared the details with Medical Marketing Inc. (MMI), also in Orlando.

“Coincidentally, MMI was studying social media and actively searching for an online solution to deliver video and social media features to select clients,” said Middleton. “The timing was perfect. (MMI president) Andrea Eliscu arranged a meeting with Jewett, and we quickly realized we’d found the perfect initial partner.”

Jewett wanted to connect with the world in a way that not only provided the necessary points about the clinic and its services, but also to engage the reader as a loyal follower, said Heyward. 

“The content provided by Bolder Media aligned with Jewett and is an incredible resource for stories that are inspirational and motivational,” Heyward added. “It’s really refreshing to offer something more and not have to worry about the typical dirty laundry from aligning with the everyday news.”

Being involved in a multi-layered social media project ahead of the curve was fitting for the large orthopedic practice, whose founder, Eugene L. Jewett, MD, left a legacy as not only a compassionate orthopedic surgeon, but also a thought leader in orthopedic innovation.

“As the inventor of the Jewett Hip Nail and back brace, Jewett physicians continue to be nationally recognized as leaders in orthopedic surgery,” said Heyward. “With the platform established for Jewett, the physicians have been able to embrace a social platform to educate globally to other orthopedic surgeons the latest in surgical techniques. On the flip side, the platform design also enhances the opportunity to connect with patients, giving them no reason to fear the options, but instead to be ready for exploration of the various treatment options.” 

The group’s 25 physicians embraced the video biography concept, which provided them a unique venue to share personal anecdotes about their family and other passions. 

“It’s a great ice-breaker for a new patient who might be a little nervous or anxious,” said Heyward.

The video biography approach, Middleton added, “portrays physicians as the caring individuals they are, not just strangers in white coats.” 

The ICP also provided a way for the practice to educate potential patients on the basics of orthopedic injuries.

“One of the most popular complaints I receive from Jewett physicians is seeing a patient who has arrived to be seen and holds stacks of information from the Internet and is convinced a certain surgical procedure is the cure all,” said Heyward. “What they don’t realize is that many of the stories online aren’t proven or true. This element of the educated patient takes significant time to debate and can be a real challenge.”  

Jackie Carlin, director of content for Bolder Health, said social media, when properly executed, “is without question the most cost-effective way to market a practice, to generate positive word-of-mouth, positive ROI, and create inbound links to your website.”

The ICP incorporates all major social media tools—RSS feeds, links to Facebook and Twitter pages, email links, embed codes and social bookmarking, noted Carlin.

“With Jewett, for example, we used Facebook and Twitter to promote their participation in the annual Winter Park Road Race, which draws thousands of runners,” he said. “We set up an event on Facebook for the race and teased that event listing on Facebook and Twitter before and during the race. At the race itself, Page (Heyward) took photos, and afterwards, I loaded them up and invited race participants to tag themselves. We also sent congratulatory tweets to racers. It was one more way to highlight the practice's robust community involvement. Even if a racer didn't see Jewett there, they knew that we were there, thanks to Facebook and Twitter.”

Jewett represents one of the first physicians groups to understand the growing power and importance of social media and online videos to market their practice, highlight their physicians and leverage the voice of satisfied patients, said Middleton.

“Many physicians don’t fully understand these trends or are seeking a proven way to tap into them,” he said, noting that earlier this month, Winter Park Urology added an ICP to its website.

When both parties initiated the project, Heyward had one request: the website needed to be maintenance-free.

“They delivered,” she said. “We have a very large practice with more than 140,000 patient visits a year and we don’t have the time or staff to manage a major web operation. Bolder Health provided a turnkey solution.”

Bill Shafer, vice president of Bolder Health, emphasized how content determines the success or failure of web projects.

“As important as the delivery platform is,” he said, “it’s the custom and licensed wellness content that comes with the ICP that makes this a powerful turnkey solution for physicians groups of all kinds.”

Tags:

Bookmark:

Digg

Facebook

Technorati

Newsvine

Google

Related: