What patients actually check before booking a consultation

By the time a patient calls, they have usually already decided. The call is confirmation, not evaluation.

The sequence is fairly consistent: a search, a glance at the map results and star ratings, a scan of recent reviews, a quick look at the website on mobile, and often a check of the practitioner's social profile. Each step is a filter, and each one can end the process.

Two failures do disproportionate damage. The first is a website that loads slowly on mobile data — patients leave before it renders. The second is an abandoned social profile, which introduces doubt precisely when the patient is looking for reassurance.

Audit this yourself. Search your own primary treatment on a phone, on mobile data, not on your clinic wifi, and walk the path a patient walks. The friction is usually obvious within two minutes.