When communication becomes overwhelming, the web and social media can lighten the load

It can happen to any practice at any time. Your practice is humming along like fine-tuned machine. Your schedule is booked up. Clinicians are running on time. Patients are getting the appointments they need. Everything’s working like clockwork. Then, out of the blue, boom! A story about a possible new link between a drug many of your patients rely on and a dangerous side effect blasts hits the national media. Suddenly, the hum of efficiency is replaced by the sound of phones ringing off the hook. Nervous patients are clamoring to speak with their doctors, and your staff struggles to reassure them. Patients who need appointments have trouble booking them, because your lines are overloaded. Many are frustrated because they only reach your voicemail. Even the best-run practices can be temporarily disrupted by factors outside their control: drug and device recalls; unexpected research findings; power outages; and severe weather are just a few examples. These disruptions can be severe enough that your practice can suddenly feel very understaffed. Of course, most of these types of unpredictable disruptions existed before the internet age. The internet has allowed news to spread more quickly, though. Sometimes, inaccurate information and questionable advice gains just as much traction as useful advice – and that can mean more nervous patients calling your practice with questions. But the good news is that when it comes to rapid communication, that same internet that spreads anxiety and uncertainty like wildfire can also help your practice spread smart answers with a lot less effort. And it can make dealing with unforeseeable problems a bit easier, by scaling your communications and allowing your patients quick access to trustworthy answers. One of our pediatric practice clients recently faced a double whammy of communication problems. First, their phones went out. Then, in truly unlucky fashion, their website also chose that same moment to go down. They were unable to respond to phone calls and couldn’t even access their email database. They still had a couple of resources available to them, though – and those tools turned out to be lifesavers. First, the practice