I haven’t thought much about the internationalization of healthcare, but I’m sure blogging would help bring patients from overseas. I worked with a Chinese cancer center here in Beijing and they have patients from around the world. A blog would surely help them get more.

It sounds crass to say this, but in many ways the doctors are a hospital’s “product.” Blogs are perhaps the best way for potential “customers” to get to know the “product” before they “make the purchase.” I think that might be even more critical when patients are deciding whether or not to travel to a foreign country and have concerns about the doctors and the care they will receive. Without a blog, Dr. X is just a photo, a list of degrees, and a funny name. With a blog, Dr. X becomes a real person who the patient can get to know — and make it more likely that the patient will choose to get treatment and Dr. X’s hospital.

What do you think?

Thanks for the mention and the link. At some point, when you have time, I’d be interested in listening to how you are conducting doctor outreach, and some thoughts on how increased blogging by doctors could lead to greater internationalization of healthcare.

Could, for example, a doctor blogging from England, and doing a good job, attract patients from the US.