Every good doctor knows that keeping your patients happy and providing excellent patient care is key to success. Your website lets you provide value added services for your patients, by providing details as to timings of the clinic; the specialized services you offer; answers to commonly asked questions, and post- procedure instructions as well as directions as to how to get to the clinic. This means you can use your website to serve your patients round the clock without requiring them to call or visit, making your website a valuable support / contact centre.

The internet is a very valuable means of educating patients, and doctors need to be in the forefront of providing reliable information to their patients. After all, if we don't take responsibility for educating patients, then who will?

Putting up a website has become very easy, and many hospitals and institutions provide free web hosting on their site . However, it's well worth spending , to get your own domain name and a commercial web host, This lets your patients know that you are professional and serious about the services you offer.

It is true that putting up a website -and updating it -can be time consuming, and you might want to consider outsourcing it. Your website is an image of your clinic -make sure you do a professional job. Typing errors, poor grammar and dead links all create a poor impression. Also, make sure you reply promptly to queries and e-mails.

This can also provide you with an incentive to upgrade your own services. Your website can help to keep you on your toes -both professionally, because you need to update your knowledge to provide fresh content for your website and to answer queries received by email from patients in all parts of the world; and technologically, because you will need to keep abreast of computer and internet technology.

The Indian government has started encouraging doctors and hospitals to export their services and medical services can be a major area of foreign exchange revenue. for the future. By encouraging doctors and clinics to put up their own websites, the Indian Health Ministry can help the Indian medical industry to export their specialized medical services and knowledge - without contributing to brain drain. This can be a valuable source of foreign exchange for the country, and our hospitals can be actively promoted as medical centres of excellence. Indian doctors have the expertise -we just need the infrastructure and the promotion.