For physicians and healthcare organizations, visibility and trust matter a great deal. Patients want to know they are in capable, credible hands, and colleagues, hospitals and journalists look to respected experts for insight. Earned media coverage enhances your credibility in ways that paid advertising can’t, and it works best when you know what journalists need and how to deliver it. This guide covers how media relations fits into PR, how to get journalists to call you, how to respond to their requests, how to give a strong interview, and the mistakes we see doctors make most often.

PR and Media Relations: How They Fit Together

Public relations is the overall strategy for managing how you or your practice are perceived. It covers every way you communicate your values, expertise and approach to care, not only with patients but also with referring physicians, hospital administrators, staff and community stakeholders. For a doctor, that may mean clear messaging about your specialty, educational content for the public, a thought leadership presence online, or careful communication during a crisis or a major healthcare change. If you’re weighing whether it’s worth the investment, our article on why doctors need PR makes the case in more detail.

Media relations is one specialized part of PR. It focuses on building and maintaining relationships with the journalists, editors and producers who cover health and medical topics. Through media relations, your PR team positions you as a trusted expert source and secures interviews, feature stories or expert commentary in outlets ranging from local TV stations to national health publications. Earned coverage builds credibility in a way paid advertising can’t. A pediatrician quoted in The New York Times or interviewed on a local news segment about flu prevention strengthens their professional authority and public trust along with their visibility.

PR sets the strategy, and media relations carries out one of its most visible tactics. A well-planned approach for a physician might include educational articles on your website, community talks and social media, all supported by proactive outreach to the media. Without that strategy behind it, coverage may be short-lived or unfocused. With it, every media opportunity reflects your goals, whether that’s patient education, thought leadership or positioning your practice as a leader in your specialty.

How to Get Journalists to Call You

Publicity is a natural match for doctors. Journalists need medical experts to quote in their stories, and doctors want to be quoted. Plenty of articles on health, fitness, beauty, nutrition and mental health include a doctor’s comments. The doctors who are quoted often are the ones putting in the time to respond to queries and pitch their credentials as subject matter experts. Some do this on their own, and others work with a firm that specializes in PR for doctors. Coverage can also earn links and mentions that may support the visibility of your website.

These are strategies that have worked for MCPR in bringing media interviews and publicity to our doctor and wellness clients over the years. You can see the results our clients have seen for yourself.

  • Write a concise bio covering your expertise, your education and your work history. Include it in pitch notes that welcome journalists to seek your point of view for their articles.
  • Don’t be shy about sharing recent media mentions along with your pitch. They back up your expertise and show you have experience with the media.
  • Build a list of media outlets and journalists who write about your specialty, and keep it current. Use it periodically to remind them that you’re available to comment, and add new journalists as you meet them.
  • Use PR alert tools that flag articles in the works where journalists are seeking commentary. Examples include Connectively (formerly HARO), Qwoted, Profnet and Peter Shankman’s SOS Media Queries.
  • Raise your hand and become known as a reliable resource. Journalists researching a story need experts, and they go back to the ones who have helped them before.

What Journalists Look for in a Medical Expert

When journalists interview doctors, they want accurate, clear and compelling information that helps them inform or engage their audience. Before setting up an interview, they check that you’re a credible source with the right credentials to speak on the topic. Here is what else they’re hoping to find.

  • Evidence-based insight. Information backed by research, clinical experience or established medical guidelines is ideal.
  • Timely, relevant information. When a topic ties to breaking news or a seasonal trend, such as flu season or COVID-19 updates, journalists want the most current and actionable insight. They also look for perspective on new research, innovations and changes in healthcare policy, or on topics being discussed on social media. Stay up to date with current events and be ready to offer your expertise when a relevant topic arises.
  • A fresh point of view. Journalists want interesting, original stories, not the same old story again. If there are myths or common misunderstandings about a topic, addressing them can make your interview stand out.

How to Respond to a Request for Quotes

Once journalists are calling, texting, emailing and messaging you, you’re at the media relations equivalent of the 10 yard line, and it’s important not to fumble. You are the expert, so your commentary must be grounded in fact. But your words are going into an article for a broad audience, not a medical journal or textbook, so they need to be digestible and usable.

  • Meet the deadline. Emergencies come up in medicine, but as a rule of thumb, get back to the journalist at or before the deadline for comments. Journalists are almost always on deadline, and they keep calling the experts who work in their timeframe.
  • Answer every question, and answer the specific questions asked. Think of it like an exam. The journalist has an idea of how to build the piece, and thorough, fact-based answers make them more likely to write it, get it approved and publish it. Write for a consumer audience.
  • Reply in polished, full sentences that can be quoted easily. If a journalist has to come back and ask what your sixth bullet point meant, the article may be delayed or lost, and the relationship can suffer. Send clear, grammatically correct responses.
  • Keep sales language out. Journalists can’t use lines like “we’re the best practice in the Northeast” or “we’ve done more procedures than anywhere in the US.” That’s advertising, and it has no place in a media response.
  • Write your own answers and don’t use AI. Journalists want original, authentic responses and interesting, relevant quotes. Sending AI-written answers can cost you the relationship with that journalist.

Here is how this works in practice. Say you’re an infectious disease specialist and a journalist asks what parents can do to limit the spread of an itchy but non-deadly illness going around elementary schools. Respond with practical tips, and feel free to share an anecdote about a patient and what you encouraged their parents to do. Be real and clear, and skip the molecular detail of how the virus is shaped.

How to Give a Strong Interview

Before an interview, prepare a few short, impactful statements. Journalists are looking for quotes that will resonate with readers or viewers, and a memorable soundbite is the most useful thing you can hand them. If you have a highly quotable comment, a salient experience or an opinion worth sharing, go for it. If you have gold, give the journalist the gold.

  • Use plain language. Skip complicated medical jargon in favor of everyday terms, and use examples or anecdotes to turn complex concepts into something relatable. Focused, concise answers keep the journalist and the audience from drowning in unnecessary detail.
  • Keep your tone authoritative yet approachable. Avoid sensationalism and alarmist phrasing.
  • Offer practical advice and easy takeaways that help audiences make informed decisions.
  • Be honest and transparent. If evidence is inconclusive or a topic is still being debated, say so and give context, so the journalist can write a balanced and accurate article.
  • Avoid overpromising on medical outcomes, and be cautious about definitive statements on unproven treatments or speculative results.
  • Be accurate and truthful. Media interviews give you a platform to educate the public about the conditions you treat, and they’re another way to help people with their health questions and concerns.
  • Be reliable. Show up on time for scheduled interviews, come prepared with facts and resources, and respond promptly to any follow-up questions or requests for clarification.

Do these things consistently and you build trust with journalists, improve the quality of the story and become a go-to expert for future opportunities.

Build the Relationship, and Say Thank You

Many journalists work freelance or for large publications. They spend their days chasing leads and experts, making calls that go unreturned and racing deadlines. Their work is stressful and essential, and the PR professionals who succeed are the ones who make it easier. Doctors are skilled at bedside manner, and PR people develop what we call computerside manner. Journalists aren’t our patients, and it isn’t their job to be patient. The more easy-to-use comments we deliver, the more reliable and responsive we are, and the more we have our act together, the more we become trusted sources for expert commentary on health and wellness stories.

Good manners do a lot of the work here. Be polite, say thank you and don’t be snarky. Track your published articles with tools such as Google alerts and TalkWalker so you know when you’ve been quoted, then thank the journalist and welcome them to reach out again for upcoming stories. It’s good business as well as good manners, because journalists are people too, and PR professionals and journalists depend on each other.

Stay in touch between stories. Routinely reminding journalists you already know about your availability gives them the connection they need to complete their articles. As trust builds, getting expert commentary for topical stories becomes easier and more valuable for both sides.

Finally, put your coverage to work. Post and share your media mentions, and tag the journalist when you do. A social media presence also lets you build a profile as a thought leader, engage with patients, educate the public about important health issues and keep patients informed.

Five Common Doctor PR Mistakes and How to Fix Them

These are common mistakes doctors make with the media, and how to do better.

  1. Answering in medical language. Journalists, patients and other stakeholders find heavy jargon confusing. Give consumer-friendly answers tailored to the readership.
  2. Responding late or off topic. Tight deadlines are the norm, so reply on time and on topic. Prompt, relevant answers make journalists more likely to come back and improve your chances of coverage.
  3. Keeping your media mentions to yourself. Promote them on your social channels and website to draw additional attention.
  4. Letting current events pass by. When a relevant story breaks, offer your expertise. It helps build your reputation as a thought leader in the medical field.
  5. Not building relationships with journalists. Be responsive, provide valuable information and make yourself available for interviews. That earns the rapport that leads to repeat coverage.

MCPR specializes in publicity for doctors and wellness experts.

Reach out to us at 203-968-6625 or via email at info@mcprpublicrelations.com for more information.