WP Plugins for Medical Professionals

One of the great advantages of WordPress as a platform is that there is a huge library of software available. Plugins allow WordPress designers and users to add all kinds of functionality to websites without hours and hours of coding — and usually the plugins are supported and updated so that they don’t become obsolete and have to be replaced or rebuilt. WordPress medical plugins can give you functionality at your website that would have been very costly in the past.

This means an enormous savings of time and money for website owners. It also means that a small medical practice can have fancy stuff at their website which might not have been practical in a traditional website.

There have been big changes at WordPress. The new Block Builder knocked out quite a few plugins. WordPress will stop supporting older versions of pHp, too, and this could affect some plugins. We’ve double checked the plugins in this article, and checked out some new ones, too.

Website basics

• Contact Form 7

An easy form builder that lets you do everything from accept a question or contact from a visitor to creating online patient intake forms. There are many other choices of form builders, but this one continues to be a favorite because it’s easy and trouble-free.

• Gravity Forms

When you need something more robust, Gravity Forms provides lots of options, including if/then structuring and many different types of questions. This is what we use for detailed forms, like psychiatric intake forms or complex employment applications. 

• Ultimate Appointment Booking and Scheduling

There are many different options for online appointment bookings, but this one includes Gutenberg (Block Editor) blocks. It also allows you to work with multiple locations and to accept (even require) upfront payment. Allowing clients and patients to schedule their own appointments is an extremely popular option for healthcare websites, and a booking engine that lets you set the parameters is important. You’ll want to be able to set margins between appointments, black out lunch breaks, approve reservations and send confirmation emails, at the least. Jituzu Tools provides HIPAA-compliant booking; it requires a paid membership and hasn’t been updated in a year. Doctor Appointment Booking integrates billing and is specifically intended for medical offices, but it also hasn’t been updated in a year.

• Events Calendar

Again, there are lots of choices for event calendar plugins with WordPress; this is one that we use and like. If you offer patient education events, you’ll want a simple way to let patients and community members sign up, without adding to the workload of your team. This plugin has been our go-to for years.

• Staff list

While we often build custom staff pages, a plugin can speed up the process. You might be surprised by how many prospective patients will scrutinize the photos of your team before they decide to come in to see you.

• CRM integration

There’s no single plugin to recommend here, because you’ll want the one that integrates with your chosen CRM solution, like Salesforce or Zoho. If you already use a CRM, find the plugin that will let it integrate with WordPress. If you haven’t sprung for one, check out WP-CRM for a simple, economical option. MJM Clinic is an add-on for WP-CRM designed for the medical practice.

Useful extras

• Glossary widget

The CM Tooltip allows you to build your own glossary for your website.

• WP Google Maps

You need a map on your website so that new patients can easily find you. An interactive Google map will stay up to date and show custom maps. There are lots of Google Maps plugins, but WP Google Maps is one of the easiest to use on your own.

• COVID-19 Watch

This widget shows up-to-date stats on COVID-19.

• DICOM Support

This plugin lets you upload DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) files to your website.

• Online Health Calculators

This collection of calculators is a work in progress. They’re planning to add more over time.

Some other health-specific calculator plugins:

• BMI Calculator
• Ovulation Calculator
• Nutrition Information for recipes

Can we help you?

With any of these plugins — and any number of others — you may need help in configuring the plugin. You may need a hand to make it look good on your website, or to work out compatibility issues with your other website elements. Just as you encourage your patients to get professional help when they need it, you should get help from website professionals when you need it. Call 479.966.9761 or use our contact form and we’ll be happy to help.