What a time to be a part of the healthcare industry. Things have turned upside down and back again in recent months, with doctors and nurses the world over facing down an unprecedented crisis. While lockdown restrictions are easing in many countries, the situation remains fluid. Without access to a vaccine, the threat posed by COVID-19 will always be with us; this makes effective communication a vital tool in the battle against the virus. One particularly useful yet underused method that can help doctors, medical centres and healthcare businesses communicate effectively with their audience is publishing a quality, regularly updated blog.
Unfortunately, the internet is a cesspit of misinformation, hyperbole and hysteria (there’s more than a few amusing videos thrown in there too, so you know, horses for courses). Striking a clear, effective tone in the face of wall-to-wall articles can be tough, but it’s an important goal to strive for – not just during this pandemic, but with medical topics in general.
Why is Effective Communication Important in Healthcare?
Clear communication in the healthcare industry has never been more important. This is especially true if your area of expertise is hyper-specific or lesser-known by the general public. The clearer the information you can get out into the public forum, the less confused your readers will be. This will have a knock-on effect, keeping them more informed if they or someone they know falls ill with a condition in your area of expertise.
The internet is not really policed. Anyone can say or claim anything and present it as fact. One webpage looks much the same as another. Charlatans lurk around every digital corner, eager to fill a curious mind with pseudo-scientific theories and junk medical studies. The threat is real, and it is, in the famous words of Mulder and/or Scully, “out there”. The best way to combat this is through consistent, accurate information.
Doctors usually have their hands pretty full with work, so the chances are that updating an SEO-charged blog is low on their to-do list.
How are Blogs Used in Healthcare?
Healthcare in general is an incredibly complicated topic that most people don’t care to know about unless they or a loved one are sick or in danger of becoming so. However, when these circumstances arise, folks tend to get obsessive. Providing critical, accurate information to anxious folks scouring the internet for answers is one of the most important jobs that blogs can do.
One crucial skill is required for professional medical writers; breaking down complex information into easy-to-understand, digestible content. We’ve all been confused and addled by ‘doctor-speak’ in real life. Unfortunately it fares no better as written words. New diseases, new treatments and new breakthroughs are often mass-communicated to the general public through the medium of the internet. It’s important that these are translated as simply and directly as possible.
Why Blogs are the Best Method of Communication in the Healthcare Industry
A well-written, consistent SEO-charged blog is often the best way to get the message across to the general public. People are familiar with the blog format; they’re easily digestible, easily navigated and easily shared around, via newsletters, social channels and email.
It also gives you an opportunity to link related topics to one other, offering further reading for both patients and visitors to your site. These can serve to boost comprehension of the initial post, especially if some of the elements are hard to understand -and let’s face it, in medicine and healthcare, most concepts are better explained with a deeper dive.
If you know the literature but aren’t confident in your writing abilities, you can always outsource your medical blog to SEO copywriting professionals. You provide the facts and materials around the subject and they can create engaging copy based on your expert knowledge. The most important thing is that the message you want to convey gets out there, in the cleanest, most direct way possible.
Medical Companies Often Neglect Their Blog…To Their Detriment
Featured Image by annca from Pixabay
Centre Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay
