Three months after Dr. Beverly Edwards cashed in her savings to keep Ahoskie Pediatrics afloat, she received a check for $97,000 from the State of North Carolina.

Clerical error? No. It was the result of press coverage. Specifically, a MedPage Today story that shed light on the practice’s financial woes, caused largely by the state failing to pony up Medicaid reimbursements.

“That article gave us exposure,” Edwards says. “I think the state read it and they were like, ‘We are going to help you, we aren’t going to let this happen to you.'”

Healthy Growth with PR, Email Marketing and Yelp
Chances are your practice isn’t on the brink of closure. But that doesn’t mean it can’t benefit from media coverage, email and digital marketing, social media, and online reviews.

For example, a 2014 study found that 68 percent of patients use online reviews when searching for a new doctor. And, half would go out-of-network for a doctor with positive reviews. When’s the last time you updated your practice’s Yelp or Google profile, and combed through feedback?

Email and social media marketing help your practice stay in touch with patients, and pull in new ones. Programs like MailChimp can even help you create and send appointment reminders, or newsletters for free.

Did you just perform your 10,000th cataract procedure? Do you provide free eye exams to the impoverished on the weekends? Did your institution discover a breakthrough in AMD research? These are all real examples of news stories that began at practices just like yours.

Put your name out there. It just might pay.