| LAS
VEGAS – Chiropractic research can become your
best ally and serve to build your practice. And it’s
a great tool for new DCs to use to build their practices.
According to Dr. Len Schwartz, DC, when you consistently
use research as a patient-education tool, your patients
become walking, talking billboards for chiropractic
care. And that translates into increased referrals
and a bigger, more successful practice.
Speaking
at the Parker Seminars, Schwartz said that research
can be an effective teaching tool: After all, he said,
when you cite research, you become an objective messenger
who reports on facts and is not positioned as “anti-medicine.”
But
the key to using this type of information is to be
systematic. “Each time a patient comes in, each
person in your office has to share research with them,”
said Schwartz. Each person – beginning with
the front-desk assistant – must have a “script”
to share with the patient on the research topic of
the day.
What’s
in a referral kit?
Prepare
referrals kits ahead of time and have them ready
the instant a patient indicates he or she knows
someone who could benefit from chiropractic
for the problem described in the topic of the
day, said Dr. Len Schwartz, DC.
He has kits prepared for both children and adults.
Each kit contains:
•
A research-based report;
•
Information on how the body works and how chiropractic
works;
•
A gift certificate for a discounted first visit;
and
•
A business-card sized CD containing an entire
“Introduction to Chiropractic.”
Each
report also has a tracking code. “Track
the referral,” said Schwartz. One way
to do this is to make the patient responsible
for the referral. “Train the CA to say,
‘Do you think you can tell me what your
referral thinks about the information when you
come in next time?’” he said. “When
patients say ‘yes’ they take responsibility
for the referral.” |
And by the time the patient leaves the office, he
or she will be thinking about how the information
can help a family member or acquaintance. That someone
is your next referral.
How
it works
Schwartz described how to develop a system to deliver
consistent research information to patients:
1.
Compile approximately 200 research articles. These
articles will become the basis for your daily topics.
2.
Assign a topic coordinator. Give this person the responsibility
to pick out a topic each day.
3.
Post the topic. Use a bulletin board or a white board
and post the topic, such as “chiropractic and
asthma in children.” Place the board in a prominent
place, where patients as well as staff can see it.
4.
Meet with the staff daily. Prior to meeting with them,
review the research article. Pick out pieces of it
for each staff member. Then train them in what you
want them to say to patients.
5.
Introduce the topic. With the arrival of each patient
that day, each person in the office – from the
front-desk CA to the chiropractor or anyone else who
may deal with the patient – has a specific script
for the topic. That script is designed to stimulate
a referral.
6.
Give the patient a referral kit. Prepare referral
kits appropriate for children as well as adults and
have them ready to give to patients who are ready
to make a referral.
Schwartz gave an example of how the system works:
With
the arrival of each patient, the front-desk CA says
to the patient: “Today’s topic is [chiropractic
and asthma in children],” and refers to the
topic on the white board. “Often, the patient
will start to talk to the CA about someone he knows
who has that particular problem,” said Schwartz.
When that happens, the CA should give the patient
a referral kit. When the patient goes in to see you,
as part of your “table talk,” tell her
a fact gleaned from the research topic of the day.
For example, you might say, “Research shows
that…” After you have finished your adjustment,
ask, “Did you have any questions about [the
topic]?”
Answer
any questions, then cue your CA to give the patient
a referral kit (if he does not already have one) or
to ask, “Did the doctor talk to you about [the
topic]?” “It’s one more opportunity
to educate and to cause the patient to think about
the topic,” said Schwartz.
He
said that his own research has shown that 75 percent
of patients know someone with the problem addressed
in your daily topic. “Not all of these patients
will make referrals,” he said, “but a
significant number of them do.”
Why
does it work, he mused? It works because the research
attaches value to the adjustment. The patient leaves
knowing more than when he came in and understanding
how adjustment can help someone else he knows.
Dr.
Len Schwartz, DC, is president of ChiroPower LLC.
He spoke at the Parker Seminars. He can be reached
at 866-969-3508.
|
