Yellow pages may not net green

"Practices should really assess the value of yellow page ads, because they're becoming obsolete," Shawn McVey, MA, MSW, says. "Most practices spend 1 percent to 1.5 percent of their revenue every year on yellow page ads. And if you live in any fast-growing city, they're printing a new yellow pages every six months and they ding you for more money each time. So unless you offer emergency services you want to support, I don't think it's a good expenditure of money to buy more than a one-line ad with the doctor's or clinic's name."

Kelly Stazyk is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. Please send questions or comments to firstline@advanstar.com