What a clinic website is for
People looking at a clinic or practice website may be in pain, anxious or unsure what they need. The site should help them answer three questions calmly: can this practice help with my problem, what will the first appointment involve, and how do I book. Clear words matter more here than design flourishes.
Write the goal in the planner along those lines, for example: "Let new patients understand a first appointment and book it, without sending health details by email."
Health information is special category data
Under UK GDPR, data concerning health is one of the special categories of personal data listed by the Information Commissioner's Office. To process it, a business must identify a condition for processing under Article 9 as well as meeting the other rules. That has practical consequences for a website plan:
- Do not ask for symptoms, conditions or medical history in a general contact form.
- Add a line to the form asking people not to include health details.
- If you take intake forms online, plan to use a system designed for that purpose, and read its terms on where data is stored and who can access it.
- Explain in the privacy notice what health information you collect, why and how it is protected.
This guide cannot tell you which Article 9 condition applies to your practice. Check the ICO's guidance, and your professional body's rules, before you choose a booking or records system.
Questions new patients ask
- Do you treat my problem?
- What happens at a first appointment, and how long is it?
- What does it cost, and can I claim it on insurance?
- Who will I see, and what are their qualifications?
- Is the building accessible?
- How do I cancel or move an appointment?
Pages for a clinic or practice
| Page | What it must answer |
|---|---|
| Home | What the practice treats, who works there and how to book |
| Treatments | One section per treatment: what it is and what a session involves |
| First appointment | What to bring, how long it takes, what happens |
| Prices and payment | Fees, payment methods and any insurance arrangements |
| About the practitioners | Names, qualifications and registration details you can evidence |
| Find us | Address, access, parking and transport |
| Book or contact | Booking link, phone, and a general enquiry route without health details |
| Privacy notice | Including how health information is handled |
Writing about treatments
Describe what a treatment involves rather than what it will achieve. Claims about outcomes need evidence, and health claims in advertising are regulated. Plain descriptions of a session, its length and what a patient can expect are safer and more useful.
If you show reviews, the UK fake review rules apply as they do to any business. Publishing only the positive ones can count as misleading. The reviews guide explains the duties.
Accessibility for health visitors
Some visitors to a health site will have impaired sight, movement or concentration. The W3C's WCAG 2.2 guidelines set out how to make pages readable with a screen reader, usable with a keyboard and clear in colour contrast. Plan to ask any builder how they will check the site against them, and include an accessibility page on the plan.
Features a clinic site may need
- Online booking. Choose a provider that suits health businesses, and check what it records. Its monthly cost belongs in the budget estimator.
- Intake forms. Only through a system designed to hold health data.
- Cookies. Booking widgets and maps may set cookies of their own. List them for the cookie notice.
Next steps for your clinic site
Write your goal, treatments and new patient questions into the planner. Mark "booking that keeps health data out of email" as a must have in the feature selector, and check the ICO guidance before you pick a system.
Sources checked for this page