Hartsdale Urgent Care Uses Social Media to Better Serve Community

An urgent care center in Hartsdale has been employing new media and creative online ways to improve patient doctor communications. They are reaching out to the community in innovative and interactive ways.

Dan Purugganan, Head of Operations at Doctors Express Hartsdale said “The way that healthcare is being delivered today is changing.  Although often times doctor-patient time is shorter than it has been, the ability to reach out to patients in other ways is easier than ever before.  We strive to communicate with our patients in many ways, so that the services you receive are efficient, portable and most of all effective. We want to encourage interaction and connection with our health care providers, and with our urgent care centers as well.”

Medical Director Michael Tugetman MD agrees. “If patients are engaged with their healthcare providers, trust is formed that evolves into a better patient-doctor relationship. And that’s how you stay current and connected. We want to develop an interactive relationship with our patients, and so we need to meet them where they are”.

That being said, advances in apps and online awareness are opening the door to all kinds of possibilities for doctors and healthcare providers these days, and they are being applied in full force at Doctors Express.  Awareness and education is key.  Especially now with the sweeping changes in healthcare law, outreach in the form of quick, targeted education and information is what people are hungry for, what they’ve become used to and what a medical office, whether it be urgent care, specialty doctors or primary care needs to be delivering to give their patients real value. Here is a sampling of how people are experiencing the upgraded services:

• Real time community health alerts, such as flu warnings, or, like now, spring allergy information and help, communicated to the community via email blasts, e newsletters, video and social media: Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook.
• YouTube Doctors Express Medical Minute Video Series featuring local Doctors Express providers speaking on seasonal health issues, common ailments and preventative tactics folks can watch to self- manage their health issues between doctors appointments, and in some cases to prevent seeing a doctor
• Educational video blogs written for the hyper-local online papers such as Patch, in the surrounding westchester towns, to enable folks to get to know their doctors.
• Expanded website offerings, with Healthcare education in the form of the Medical Minute videos and informational articles, the multitude of services offered such as employer services and an email and newsletter sign up are designed so that patients can not only get to know the urgent care center but can get useful information on the services as well prior to coming in. Often time’s people have questions about whether their ailment can be managed at an urgent care center. The websites answer those questions
• Specialized health education and services like camp and sports physicals, blood pressure screenings, flu shots, and more, again, via online newsletters, email blasts, Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter.
• On-line Check-in to help cut down further on visit times.  10 minutes or more can be spent on paperwork related to registration.  Doctors Express has a goal of getting patients in and out in under an hour, and this can reduce that time even further.
• Mobile friendly websites

Both Purugganan and wife Vicki Purugganan are excited to be exploring how these online ways of communicating will improve not just the efficiency of their urgent care center, but intensify their relationships with the community as a whole.

“The intention is not to replace personal interaction,” says Vicki Purugganan, “Quite the contrary. We are hoping to break down barriers and enhance the doctor-patient experience in ways not seen before while bringing significant efficiency and accessibility to the process.”

Doctors Express Urgent Care provides treatment for injuries and illnesses – offering a convenient, lower-cost alternative to visiting a hospital emergency room.  The facility is equipped with the most sophisticated digital x-ray equipment and its laboratory meets the highest industry standards for fast and accurate testing.  Doctors Express also provides Occupational Health services for employees and employers. There are approximately 20 Doctors Express locations throughout New York and New England, making it the largest chain of urgent care centers in the Northeast. It is the goal of Doctors Express to see patients quickly and to treat their injury or illness with the utmost quality and efficiency. You don’t need to be a regular patient, nor do you need an appointment. Doctors Express Hartsdale is located at 359 North Central Avenue in Hartsdale, NY, with sister locations at 2 Main Street in Danbury, CT, newly opened Doctors Express in Bridgeport at 161 Boston Avenue and Doctors Express Stamford (also opening in May) at 3000 Summer Street.

About Doctors Express Hartsdale

About AFC/ Doctors Express Urgent Care:
Doctors Express Urgent Care provides state-of-the-art treatment for acute illness, trauma (including minor surgical procedures) and has on-site laboratory and digital x-ray service as well. Pre-employment physicals, drug screening, DOT exams and treatment of work related injuries are also available to local employers. Doctors Express Urgent Care is located at 359 N. Central Avenue, Hartsdale, NY with a new center to open at 843 Hutchison River Parkway, Bronx, NY. The new center hours will be Monday-Friday from 8am-10pm and Saturday & Sunday from 8 am-8 pm. There will always be a board certified physician on site. There are additional locations in Danbury, Bridgeport, West Hartford and Stamford CT. Doctors Express will accept most insurances including many of the Affordable Care Act exchange plans. visit their website at https://DoctorsExpressHartsdale.com.