A person can know what is bothering their skin without knowing the name of the condition. Your dermatology website should let them describe that concern.
Explain the visits your practice accepts in ordinary words. Keep the provider details and office contact close to those descriptions.
What a dermatology patient looks for
Name the services your practice offers using its approved wording. Give someone unsure about the right visit a way to contact the office.
The American Academy of Dermatology's dermatologist selection guide encourages patients to explain their concerns when arranging appointments. Your page should make that explanation possible.
The things the site must show
Visit descriptions that allow uncertainty
Write the service list around the work your practice accepts. Explain the terms a patient needs to understand before choosing a contact option.
Give the reader room to describe a concern without deciding its cause. The page should help them speak with the practice.
Review each description with the clinician responsible for the wording. Keep the heading within the same scope as the paragraph beneath it.
Provider and office details together
Identify the provider associated with the service using the practice's records. Keep the office location and visit instructions attached to the correct contact.
Use the same approved office information wherever it appears. A service page should not leave a patient choosing between conflicting directions.
Give payment questions a clear destination. The practice's own explanation should guide the reader toward the person who can discuss their arrangements.
Contact questions the office can use
For a visit request, use the information your practice has agreed to collect. Let the patient state the reason for contacting the office.
If the practice accepts photographs or records, explain its approved method separately. Keep the general contact instructions understandable without that extra step.
Put the phone number beside the request. The button and the message after submission should describe what the office actually receives.
The mistake to check for
Look for an appointment form that requires a condition name before allowing contact. A patient may have a clear concern and still be unable to select it.
Read the choices as someone without medical training. Check that the office can be reached when the right description is uncertain.
What that gap can cost you
A forced choice can give the office an inaccurate reason for the visit. It can also leave the reader unsure whether their concern belongs there.
A plain description lets the practice begin with the patient's own question.
The next step
Open your dermatology page on a phone. Follow the appointment request and check whether someone can explain a concern without naming a condition.
Related: Dermatology websites
If you want an outside look at how skin concerns reach your practice, start with the free check.