Ophthalmology

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a client in the Midwest. The marketing director was looking for something fresh for social media, and I suggested a campaign for seniors. Immediately she shot it down, saying that seniors don’t get on the Web and just aren’t computer savvy. I disagreed and was happy to recite some numbers for her.

In 2012, Pew Research came out with new numbers on seniors and the Internet, and they were astonishing. Fifty-three percent of adults living in the U.S., age 65 years and older, use the Internet or email. Yes, it’s not 82% of online users in the adults 18+ category, but it is slightly more than one out of two seniors online.

On Dec. 18, the FDA sent out another round of warning letters to LASIK surgeons in California, Indiana, Florida, Texas and Georgia about their ads being misleading and not having sufficient information about potential risks and associated side effects involving laser vision correction.

The FDA states that the most common risks include:

• dry eye syndrome, which can be severe;
• the possible need for glasses or contact lenses after surgery;
• visual symptoms including halos, glare, starbursts and double vision, which can be debilitating; and
• loss of vision.

See the FDA’s official news release here: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm332713.htm.

We all know not to use misleading language such as “Throw away your glasses” or “See better than 20/20,” but that’s not enough. As an advertising agency, I am responsible for my clients’ marketing. Their marketing may consist of online, radio, TV, print or a combination of these. I have had issues with some clients not wanting to waste precious airtime discussing risks and side effects, but several years ago, we made disclaimers mandatory.

With the recent crackdown, my agency is taking additional steps to stay compliant with the FDA. I believe the best way to stay safe is to create a risk section on the LASIK section of your website, such as a separate section in the LASIK dropdown, and then post the FDA’s risk page verbatim. Because the FDA’s information is public domain, this is perfectly legal as well as ethical. You can find that page by clicking here: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/SurgeryandLifeSupport/LASIK/ucm061354.htm.

For radio, TV and print, it’s difficult to list all appropriate risks and side effects, so I recommend adding the following:

“LASIK does have some risks and associated side effects such as dry eye and the continued need for glasses. For a complete list, see our website.”

The disclaimer above is not long, but it should be all you need to stay compliant with the FDA.

The FDA has warned that it may take additional regulatory action, such as seizure, injunction and civil money penalties, against providers who do not correct their advertising and promotion to address concerns raised by the FDA. This blog should help you keep from getting one of those friendly compliance letters.

Ever wonder how Starbucks did such a great job with branding? Have you noticed the little things? Ever wonder how Apple is so recognizable? Have you noticed the little things?

Rarely do we notice what actually goes into a brand, but all of us respond to the marketing geniuses in Seattle and Silicon Valley.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about customer service. I too have written many articles on this topic and advised many clients to take the necessary steps to improve their internal approach to maximize patient satisfaction. However, customer service is just a piece of the puzzle; a practice needs more than a surgeon and a coffee pot to become successful. Optometric liaisons, external marketing, increased web competitiveness, improved staff training, technological advantages and positi...

According to a recent survey by Opinion Research Corporation, more than two-thirds of respondents depended on online review sites when looking to purchase a particular product or service. More and more consumers choose where they eat, where they get their car repaired and which doctor to use by reading reviews online. In a world with Yelp, Google, Yahoo and blogs, it's important for businesses to manage their online reputation.

Nearly 40% of all online searches in 2010 were geographically targeted — ie, users would enter the city, state or region in addition to what they were looking for (eg, Dallas eye surgeon). Google realized the importance of changing their algorithm to reflect the importance of local search, so they came up with something called Place Search. This led to the creation of Google Places.

Recently I participated in giving an education talk on LASIK and premium IOL business development. During that talk, the attendees were able to ask the panel of speakers anything they wanted. One question in particular intrigued me.

If you live in the Dallas area, you've heard of the shoe store I'm about to talk about. It's called Luke's Locker. They specialize in selling running equipment, but mainly shoes.

Prepare for a summer slowdown.

There's something to say for the title of this blog. Like no other medium, people really do believe what they see on TV. Want to become a celebrity doctor? Advertise on TV. I was once in a car with a doctor who got pulled over for speeding. The officer came to the door and said, "Dr. Anonymous, I've seen you on TV. Thank you so much for what you're doing for people. I'm sure you were in a hurry for a reason, just try to slow down." The doctor was off the hook, simply because of the power of TV.