Patient-focused advertising has long been a part of the healthcare sector with drug companies spending big dollars on television and print advertising. Some device companies have invested in professional athlete testimonials (SHAQ!), been seen in airline magazines, local physician PR programs, and various social media channels. In Orthopedics as a whole, the majority of these marketing dollars have been directed to hip and knee arthroplasty as the heavyweights (Depuy, Stryker, Zimmer-Biomet, Smith and Nephew) slug it out and look for an edge in the very competitive $15 Billion + Global Market. Extremities are a growth component of most of these companies and Foot and Ankle marketing managers are also looking at procedure specific platforms to drive sales.

Last week Arthrex launched a patient education site www.anklesprain.com. With approximately 2 million ankle sprains a year, it hopes to be a landing place for those seeking treatment options. The site features its Internal Brace product as the procedure of choice for those with chronic instability. Of course, all ankle sprains do not need surgery, and anklesprain.com does a good job of leading the patient down the path of potential surgical intervention. The FAQ section is unique in that it features a number of consulting physicians providing answers to the questions via video explanation, not the traditional text explanations found on most sites. It also provides a robust Doctor Search tool for patients to locate an experienced physician in their area, qualifying the listed surgeons in 2 buckets as either “Elite or Master Centers.” Pushing patients to Arthrex friendly doctors provide value for both the Physician (new patients), the company (Internal Brace sales), and theoretically the patient if the end result leads them to finding a qualified physician.

In Foot and Ankle, Arthrex is not alone in the creation of procedure specific sites. Wright Medical offers MyAnkle, a site focused on end stage ankle arthritis and their market leading ankle portfolio. Treace reported at ACFAS in San Antonio and more recently on social media that they receive over 25,000 monthly patient searches for Lapiplasty surgeons at AlignMyToe. That is a massive number of potential office visits and subsequent surgeries if appropriate.

As time moves on and more and more patients are visiting Dr. Google, will more companies follow suit to reach patients for a specific product or indication? I assume yes. The other questions are: do they convert to appointments and are you listed on these sites as provider for treatment?