Leveraging an Untapped Audience

In pursuit of bolstering referrals and patient volume, Novant Health leveraged Doximity’s Patient Acquisition program. Facing the challenge of traditional clinician marketing strategies often centered solely on MDs and DOs, Novant Health sought to broaden its approach by tapping into the potential of NPs and PAs in driving patient referrals. Collaborating with Doximity presented an opportunity to diversify outreach and engage with a broader range of healthcare professionals, potentially unlocking previously untapped referral channels. Novant’s marketing then worked closely with a variety of leaders in their cardiology, oncology, and neurology programs to craft Colleague Connect^® messages to send out to potential referrers. These messages highlighted the unique clinical research and treatments available at Novant Health in their respective fields, with a call to action to connect with these Featured Physicians. For example, Dr. Sherwood, the Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at Novant Health, highlighted his Phase II clinical trial on testing tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy and showcasing the cancer center as a whole. 

Upon execution, the campaign yielded an interesting result: NPs and PAs surpassed MD/DOs in driving patient referrals, contributing to over 50% of new patient volume despite only representing 30% of the audience. Doximity’s analysis, which identified 97 net new patients from NP and PA referrals, underscored the unique value proposition offered by NPs and PAs, who, often working in primary care capacities, make more referrals than their MD/DO counterparts, while still having similarly sized patient panels. According to an analysis from Gist Healthcare using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, physicians made up more than 70% of the primary care workforce in 2010. But over a decade later, more than half of primary care providers are now advanced practice providers (APPs). Moreover, these healthcare professionals are an audience that is underutilized by hospital campaigns, as only 26% of NPs and PAs have been part of a target audience on the platform, compared to 88% of MD/DOs, on average. The success of Novant Health’s campaign underscores the importance of embracing a diversified outreach strategy that encompasses a broad spectrum of healthcare professionals. By recognizing the pivotal role played by NPs and PAs in determining their patients’ health journeys, Novant Health is poised to further optimize its outreach efforts and drive sustained growth in patient volume across its service lines.

After witnessing the success of Novant and other Doximity clients reaching this audience, Doximity’s product team developed a power user model unique to NPs and PAs.This prioritization model takes into account many elements of user activity on the platform to suggest targets that will have the highest likelihood of engaging with Doximity’s client's content. Looking ahead, this has the potential to drive even more referrals from these new sources.

Novant Health is an integrated network of more than 850 locations, including 19 hospitals, more than 700 physician clinics and urgent care centers, outpatient facilities, and imaging and pharmacy services. This network supports a seamless and personalized healthcare experience for communities in North Carolina and South Carolina. Novant Health is nationally recognized for our unwavering commitment to safety and the highest quality care, and we serve as a catalyst for healthcare transformation through clinical trials, leading-edge research, innovative care delivery models and robust virtual care networks. The expertise and empathy of our 40,000 team members along with more than 8,300 independent and employed clinicians are at the heart of Our Cause as industry leaders caring for communities across the Carolinas. In 2023, Novant Health provided more than $1.6 billion in community benefit, including financial assistance and services.

Doximity is the largest secure medical network with over 2 million members, enabling collaboration among specialties across the country. Our members search and find physicians, stay up-to-date with the newsfeed of medicine, exchange HIPAA-secure messages, and engage in telehealth visits with patients.

Doximity works with over 200 healthcare organizations, including the top hospitals in the country. Our diverse partners include academic medical centers, specialty and community hospitals, and medical software companies, among others. We help get your message in front of physicians when it matters most.