Connecting Patients with the Right Physician

Two Insurance Companies Verses ZocDoc

Ross KopelmanMBS graduate

Tufts University

Who , What, and Where?Scenario: My friend Joe has a painful palpable lump on the right side

of his neck. He hasn’t been to a primary physician in over 5 years so he is not quite sure what the problem is, which kind of doctor to consult and if this doctor practices in close proximity to where he works or resides.

Examining two major health insurance web sites compared to ZocDoc a physician appointment scheduling site

I pose the question: Which company does the best job of helping their insurance subscribers to navigate their websites to identify the correct physician for their specific medical problem within a designated geographic area ? United Health Care Blue Cross ZocDoc

United Health Care

Mission “is to help people live healthier lives by supporting

the physician/patient relationship and empower people with the information, guidance and tools they need to make personal health choices and decisions”

 Have they fulfilled their mission statement?

www.uhc.com

United Heath Care Web Strategy for connecting patients to physicians

Allows patients to make very basic searches for conditions but the feature does not always work

No physician profiles

Mobile application

Social Media Usage Facebook Twitter

United Heath Care SWOT AnalysisStrengths

• Ability to compare multiple physicians•Provides tools to narrow down search to help patient pinpoint the right doctor

Weaknesses• No use of social media for the physician profiles•Inability to book an appointment directly from the website•Weak social media presence•Won’t allow patient to search based on the symptom – maybe because they want you to go to a primary care doctor

Opportunities• Improve the physician profiles•Provide patient feedback of the physicians

Threats• better navigation tools to find the right doctor

Recommendations for United Health Care

Improve the physician comparison by incorporating patient feedback comments

Make it easier to search for a physician directly from the homepage

BlueCross BlueShield

Mission: “to help (patients) make the right choices, to offer

valuable coverage, and help you get quality health care for you and those you love.”

www.bcbs.com

BlueCross BlueShields Web Strategy

User friendly interfaces for both internet and mobile app usage

Social Media Twitter Facebook Google +

Profiles for physicians

Mobile application

BlueCross BlueShields Web Strategy

BlueCross BlueShields SWOT Analysis

Strengths:• User friendly interface for both mobile and internet

Weaknesses:• Won’t allow patient to search based on the symptom – maybe because they want you to go to a primary care doctor

Opportunities: • allowing users to book appointments with physicians on the internet or through mobile usage•Increase social media presence

Threats:• patients want to take control what physician that they see and the rates between companies don’t vary that much so they must maintain a user friendly interface and continue to make it easy for the patient to find the right physician

Recommendations for BlueCross BlueShields

Connect physician profiles with social media pages which will reinforce the importance of a patient/physician relationship

Integrate online booking into their mobile application and internet site

Increase use of Social Media for the BlueCross BlueShields brand

ZocDoc

Mission: Is to improve access to healthcare by allowing patients to

find and book an appointment with a nearby doctor who accepts their insurance

"ZocDoc is used by 2.5 million+ patients to book appointments with a wide range of medical specialties across 1,600+ cities – serving more than 40% of the US population. Target audience: health policy researchers, policymakers, state and federal government officials, healthcare organizations, and the media “

www.zocdoc.com

ZocDoc Web Strategy for connecting patients to physicians

User friendly interfaces for both internet and mobile app usage

Social Media to promote the ZocDoc brand but also a social media approach for the physicians that are listed on the site Twitter – @zocdoc Facebook Google plus Blog (only for zocdoc not for physicians)

Distribution RSS Feeds Newsletters Youtube

Profiles for physicians

Mobile application

ZocDoc Web Strategy

ZocDoc SWOT AnalysisStrengths• User friendly interfaces for both internet and mobile usage•Easily book appointments online•Provides patient feedback of physician•Focus on their strength which is helping a patient to easily find the right doctor•Strong social media presence on twitter, facebook, and Google plus

Weaknesses• System is bias because physicians pay to be listed•Bias also might be present in the patient comments left for each physician•Don’t list all sub-specialties•Doesn’t all regions

Opportunities• System to help patients determine which doctor would be ideal to see given their current medical condition

Threats• competition from competitors that could easily copy the flow of their website

Recommendations for ZocDoc

Provide a physician comparison system for the patients

Encourage physicians not listed on ZocDoc to start an online account and provide them with service for free for a month

Allow each physician profile to have a blog component which will grow the content on the site and allow for the search crawlers to pick them up etc

Web Strategy ComparisonFeature

United Health Care

BlueCross BlueShield

ZocDoc

Facebook √ √ √

Twitter √ √ √

Blog √ √

Google Plus √ √

Physician Customized Profile √ √

Mobile application √ √ √

Ability to book appointments from internet

√

Ability to book appointments from mobile app

√

Conclusion

All three sites do not assist the patient in finding the doctor best suited to care for their problem

There is an assumption that going to a specialist is going to cost the insurance company more money so these companies purposely do not let the patient bypass primary care physicians by navigating independently to specialists

This may? not be a cost saving measure because the initial visit to the PCP may add an additional layer of expense

Any Questions?Thank you for your time and attention!