It's not to early to start planning for National Chiropractic Health Month. I know it's not until October but you need to be ready to go on October 1st, not start planning. This is a great time to not only engage your current patients and attract new ones it's also a wonderful opportunity to work on your new and existing medical relationships. 

To execute without pressure and to make the greatest impact, now is the time to start making initial plans, especially if you plan on placing any paid advertisement ads, renting space,  ordering specialty food and placing branded product orders. As all of these cost money, planning early ensures you have time to shop around and plan your budget. 

ACA will soon be providing members with a NCHM campaign kit which will further aid in simplifying your events! But events such as these are not just for October, they can also be planned to boost the times in a practice that would otherwise be slow.

January is a great example, when deductibles are reset and holiday spending is being paid off. August is another when families plan the last of summer vacations and pack in the rest of the summer festivities. November and December bring along the rush of the Holiday season and travel. All of these times interrupt the natural weekly rhythm and statistics of even the most established offices. 

When you look at your practice stats do you see months that tend to have dips in them? If so, plan public relations events just in front of these slower times, or look to use these quieter practice times to book more public relations events and plan your other marketing efforts for a strong start when the normal routines return.

Events can range from small daily office events to larger events such as community health talks. Each month, each week and each day has something that can be used to boost practice engagement and presence to help overcome anticipated practice lulls. But to be successful and mindful of spending, planning a couple of months in advance will yield the best results!

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Can't get past the front desk? Doctor won't meet with you? Don't give up there are other ways to meet MD's! Getting in front of an MD is one of greatest hurdles for most outreach efforts! Here are some ideas to enhance your opportunities!

• Attend your local hospitals Grand Rounds. These are usually free to attend, don't require an RSVP and take place during lunch. To find them in your area try a Google Search with these key searches "Name of Hospital Grand Rounds" or "Name of Hospital Continuing Ed" Typically these will bring up the calendar of upcoming events. Look to ones that will be of interest to you and will appeal to those physicians you wish to meet. At the very least you'll probably learn something new!
• Network with the MD's you can meet. If you already have relationships work with them to meet other specialists in their network. It helps open doors if you have an introduction and it helps quickly find the physicians your most likely to have success with. 
• Patient Reports. Never underestimate the power of patient reports. Many DC's routinely receive referrals from MD's they have never met but did send reports to. Make it a habit to ask your patients to communicate with their MD's about their care and send a final report. 
• Attend DO continuing education seminars. Many states allow some of these CE credits to apply to chiropractic CE's. This provides a great opportunity to sit side by side and meet physicians in your community. 

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It's important to have a targeted goal and a supporting message with each outreach.  Running a chiropractic office is time consuming, so it’s critical to be time effective. Having a set goal and message will keep time on your side and make impact with the MD. A goal may simply be to meet and establish contact with an MD. Or, it may be to further a previous conversation. It will be different for each MD, but once you determine your goal, you can define your message. If a goal is to meet an MD for the first time, what’s important information to convey? In this case, your goal may be to uncover what the MD currently understands about chiropractic care and be prepared to talk about chiropractic basics such as a main condition chiropractic is known to be effective for. Future goals will be built off the outcomes of your previous goals and will include moving the conversation forward to educate the MD on a wide variety of topics including, which patients are suitable for referral and overcoming objections which are typically focused on treatment plans, scope of care, safety and costs. Be targeted with your outreach and you’ll make the most of every encounter.

Additional bonus: By having a goal, you can move forward through an algorithm of sales that ensures forward motion and effective time management. This helps make the most out of each encounter.

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Can't get past the doctors front desk? Doctor doesn't have time to meet with you? Don't give up! Here are our top three tips to meeting more MD's in your community:

1. Attend your local hospital's Grand Rounds. These are usually free to attend, don't require an RSVP and take place during lunch. Focus on topics that will interest you, allow you to ask intelligent questions, and which would attract other doctors who would likely have patients to refer. To find Grand Rounds in your area, try a Google search with terms like "grand rounds" or "continuing education" along with the name of your local hospital. The more integrated and active you become over time, the more likely you may be the one presenting at Grand Rounds!

2. Network your existing MD relationships. Have a neurologist you know? Ask them to provide an introduction to their internal medicine friends (and other specialists). If that still proves to be difficult in obtaining time, make it worth their time and spike the interest factor by offering to sponsor a small round table discussion on back pain with an existing MD friend and his or her chosen colleagues. Just make sure to make it worth your time by controlling the topic, format, reminders and restaurant reservations! Tip - Have the MD provide the initial invitation.

3. Patient Reports. Patient's medical doctors should be a top priority in your outreach, but if you're having trouble getting time with them go the more subtle route by sending them a patient discharge report. Many DC's routinely receive referrals from MD's they have never met as a direct result of taking the time to send a patient report. A simple short report at discharge (assuming this is not a medical legal case) is all that it takes to illustrate beginning and ending pain levels, treatments and length of treatment to really paint a picture on the efficacy of your care. Your intake forms should provide a space to request patient consent to share their progress, findings and outcomes to any MD they have previously seen for the condition that they are presenting to your office for.

For many offices, it's usually clear where your office is and thus your front door. For many others, especially those in large office buildings or in urban areas it's not as clear.  Even if your office is easy to find, there can be road closures or construction that impedes timely arrival.

You can easily enhance patient experience by anticipating issues such as difficulty in locating your offices front door in a large building or alerting patients to road delays. This enhances their experience and yours by preventing frustrated and stressed patient arrivals, not to mention on time appointments!

Here are some tips to consider:

• Post clear directions on your website. Include photo's of your front door or parking structures to park that are closest to your office.  
• If sending electronic reminders for appointments, include your address and if necessary parking instructions as well as a link to your website for directions. Make sure this is mobile friendly as that is the most likely time they'll realize they are lost!
• When a new patient calls in, alert them to any possibility of confusion and provide oral instructions and/or an email that clearly outlines how to get to your office. 
• If unexpected road construction or delays are incurred, call your patients and let them know of any detours or potential delays as appropriate for the duration of the delay. 

This last one happened to me for a recent dental visit. I could have easily left 5 to 10 minutes earlier to get to my appointment had I known of the road condition. Instead I arrived 10 minutes late, stressed and anxious. As did the patient who entered right behind me. 

Finally, a fellow medical marketer shared how this could be taken a step further by suggesting a video or a video montage of pictures be made illustrating where to park, the elevator, the hallways, a map and a picture of the offices front door.  I would add to that a suggestion that you highlight the front staff waiting for them at the desk with smiling faces and waves. 

These very small considerations that make a huge and positive impact on your patients overall experience with your office and makes your office standout from the competition. 

Lately, I have seen more chiropractic advertising utilizing the terms “Doctorate in Chiropractic” and “Board Certified” but with no designation as to what they are board certified in.  Did you know there are possible advertising violations especially when using the “Board Certified” designation erroneously? Let’s review.

The Chiropractic Degree

A D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic) or D.C.M. (Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine) degree is considered a 1st Professional Degree.  This degree designation is defined by the Department of Education as follows: 

“First-professional degrees represent a category of qualifications in professional subject areas that require students to have previously completed specified undergraduate coursework and/or degrees before enrolling.  They are considered graduate-level programs in the U.S. system because the follow prior undergraduate studies, but they are in fact first degrees in these professional subjects.  Holders of first-professional degrees are considered to have an entry-level qualification and may undertake graduate study in these professional fields following the award of the first-professional degree.”  

Other 1st Professional Degree’s include Dentists (D.D.S or D.D.M), Attorneys (J.D.), Veterinarians (D.V.M) Osteopaths (D.O.) and of course Medical Doctors (M.D.). 

Using the term Doctorate

The department of eduction defines the research doctorate, or the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and its equivalent titles, “as representing the highest academic qualification in the U.S. education system.  While the structure of U.S. doctoral programs is more formal and complex than in some other systems, it is important to note that the research doctorate is not awarded for the preliminary advanced study that leads to doctoral candidacy, but rather for successfully completing and defending the independent research presented in the form of the doctoral dissertation (thesis).”

Most often I see chiropractors referencing where they received their "Doctorate of Chiropractic" from or using the designation "Chiropractic Doctorate" in their CV's or "About Me" sections of their websites or business cards. There is no specialty for a doctorate study program in Chiropractic that I am aware of and thus no one D.C. that can truly say they have a “Doctorate in Chiropractic” although they may also hold a Ph.D. for another specialty in which case it should be added to their credentials as the designation can be supported with another degree.

If a medical doctor asks what your doctorate is in they are assuming it is something more than your D.C. degree and looking for an answer more along the lines of an additionally credentialed specialty focus or in research. Yes “Doctorate” sounds fancier and super smart, and those who have earned this designation certainly are, but you won’t be feeling so smart when the medical doctors you are trying to work with call you out on the designation!

Illegal? Not than I am aware of. Embarrassing - Absolutely!

For further definition on the 1st Professional Degree and Doctorates visit www.ed.gov

Stating You Are Board Certified 

All chiropractors take boards which they must pass to gain licensure - but that doesn’t mean you can advertise you are "board certified". When you say you are board certified (for your D.C. degree) it implies that you have more training than other chiropractors which is misleading and therefore in violation of medical advertising laws.

We often see chiropractic specialties that are truly board certified referred to as a “Diplomate”  status and if you have one you should most definitely advertise the additional accomplishment. To see a list of specialty degrees for the chiropractic profession click here.

These distinctions are more than just a potential source of embarrassment. There are possible regulatory repercussions in the form of advertising violations if you are found to be misleading in your advertising.  This is a major topic in my classroom and one guest lecturer I have in each trimester to discuss these concerns is Marc Abla from the Illinois Chiropractic Society who provides a little more clarity on the topic in this short video.

Illegal - as in the sense of jail time? Probably not. In terms of $$ - most likely if it is reported.  Embarrassing?  Yes, all healthcare specialists abide by the same marketing laws - have you ever seen an M.D. advertise that they are “Board Certified”  for their M.D. degree?

Please also make sure to check with your state board, that the title you are using is appropriate for your state (i.e. Chiropractic "Physician"). 

Don’t compensate for your D.C. degree - it’s impressive just for what it is!

Stroke has been a long standing point of contention over the years between chiropractors and medical physicians. In 2007 one of our most compelling papers was published in Spine and JMPT (Cassidy et al) indicating that there was no increased risk of stroke with manipulation and rather that patients were likely seeking care for the symptoms prior to their stroke. Further studies would go on to illustrate that blood flow and injury to the arterial wall were also not caused by the head positions during SMT setup. Today we have a new study that not only states that "Manual therapy does not result in an increased risk of CAD" but one which is also relevant and important for screening patients, understanding the typical pain distribution associated with stroke and a step-by-step risk benefit assessment.  This is an absolute must read for all chiropractic practitioners, but also one to be shared with healthcare practitioners who still influence their patients treatment options based on erroneous and outdated opinions. For patients who may be nervous and influenced by headlines this paper would also be reassuring. 

The full text can be found here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07853890.2019.1590627

Do you know who your patients are? I don't mean in the sense of knowing their name. I mean do you know who your patients are that you want to treat? What are their conditions? What are their needs? What services do you provide to meet those needs?  

We work in a high burnout profession. To improve your professional quality of life target your medical marketing to  appeal to the patients who have the conditions you want to treat? This means if you have a love of managing migraines - find the specialists in your area who also manage migraines. Love workers comp? Great, look to reaching out to occ. med, orthopedists and other specialists who would be likely to have these patients. 

This might seem obvious but I talk to so many chiropractors who try to appeal to everyone and fail to really specialize in one or two specific niches - often trying to claim patients with all sorts of ailments. From a marketing perspective this doesn't help direct or steer your target market in any specific direction.  I'm not suggesting that you can't be "family" practice oriented. Of course you can, but even this has a special focus and more generalized conditions to talk about in your meetings with MD's. 

Look to your own strengths and passions to appeal to the patients who have the conditions you excel and enjoy treating. Not only will you be more targeted in your outreach but you'll be less likely to suffer from burnout by making yourself available at all time to all patients to ensure your practice remains stable. 

That's the magical opportunity in marketing to medical professionals - you can really be selective and find the MD's in your area to build the practice of your dreams and enhance your professional quality of life! 

Hi everyone! 

At the start of class today, I asked my students the following question:

"Today is Valentine's Day, what marketing strategies could you put in place to attract new patients and could you also use those same strategies to double down and focus on patient engagement?"

I have to say whenever I ask these questions I am always impressed at the ideas that come forth - watch out for them when they graduate!

From educational to civic service to good old patient appreciation the ideas were wide ranging.  It's too late to plan a celebration for Valentine's Day for this year, but what about other upcoming celebrations? Are you Irish or just love green? Perhaps St. Patrick's Day might inspire you to start planning an event? 

What I love about these events are that they can capture both new patients and work towards patient appreciation and retention goals as well. 

Take a moment to look at the calendar for the remaining year and start planning some events to enhance awareness of your practice in your community. There are multiple holidays and multiple directions you can take each one to make it fun and engaging for all. 

Christina

Being active in your community is essential to your marketing. The more your name (clinic or personal) is heard, the more it is seen, the more recognizable it becomes and with that comes an implied reputation as an expert in your field. 

I spoke recently of analyzing your statistics and growth twice a year. If you did so and feel there is a need for change or room for improvement consider being more active in your community.

There are multiple ways to achieve this, some known and some that may take some digging or networking to find.  

Community talks are an obvious choice but personally I get tired of the same expected talk so traditionally associated with chiropractic. Twenty years ago when I first started out, these talks almost always included the history of our field. No offense to our founding fathers, but we have precious moments to educate our communities and talking about our history just simply isn't necessary. I'm quite sure they would forgive the oversight and appreciate it if you stick to educating potential patients about conservative care that should take place before more invasive strategies!

Even if you leave out the history don't you lose enthusiasm over time of repeating the same general chiropractic overview? You know the one about the hose being kinked? 

Look to the cases you love to manage and think outside the box on how you might offer more on the topic within your community. In turn you'll spark your creativity, your enthusiasm and certainly you'll be more enthusiastic in improving the reach in your community to gain more market share!