Meeting patients online and in person: A slideshow

It’s no secret that patients are using online resources to schedule appointments and find their next doctors. But when people go online to search for physicians, what do they look at when deciding to become a patient?

Some answers came in a poll by Tebra, a Corona Del Mar, California-based consulting firm that specializes in practice growth technology and cloud-based clinical and financial software. They tallied the data in their fourth annual benchmark report, “Patient perspectives: How patients find and pick their doctors,” published March 6.

Analyzing website use and patients by age – the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z – they found 77% of patients search online for doctors either often or sometimes. But word of mouth still counts too, with 55% of patients saying that is a top contributor toward choosing a health care provider.

Here are some findings about physicians’ online presence and the factors that patients consider when searching for doctors.