Doctors! See good, hear good.........and let all people know you are good!!

See good, hear good, do good…….and let them know you are good!
Everyone has heard of the three monkeys of Mahathma Gandhi. But have you heard of the three other monkeys, which see, hear and speak only good? And of the fourth monkey which tells everybody how good these monkeys are? Well, the fourth monkey is their public relationship officer!
No matter how good your practice is, you need to inform the public of the services you offer. In business parlance this is called Promotion, but in fact it is a type of Health Education. These days even Gods, Godmen and Temples find the need to be advertised. So, informing the public about the various facilities offered at your hospital is certainly not a sin.
Years ago, most of the promotion of a practicing doctor took place spontaneously by word of mouth..or WOMBAT (Word of Mouth: Best Advertising Technique). This still holds true for established practitioners. But the newcomers find the competition so stiff that they need to utilize modern promotion techniques of having Marketing Executives, inserting ads in the print and electronic media, hoardings etc.
It is well known that running a Private Hospital is considered as business by the Govt. Look at the abnormal commercial charges you have to pay for Electricity bills, Telephone bills and Municipal taxes. So certainly it is not illegal if you promote your hospital’s services by modern marketing techniques………..of course, as long as the promotion is ethical.
Unfortunately nowadays, the 4Ps of marketing (Product, Packaging, People and Promotion) are ignored and the 5th P (Percentage) is ruling the roost! This is a sad development. One can only hope times will change!!