3 ways to market to the medical professional

By Ben Storey, DC

Marketing to the medical profession must be a part of any well-rounded chiropractic office.

Often it is fear of rejection that holds chiropractors back from connecting with MDs. And fear of the unknown or misinformation often prevents medical doctors from connecting with chiropractors.

One must realize that most medical doctors and chiropractors have the same goal in mind — getting patients well as fast and as economical as possible. Once physicians better understand what chiropractic has to offer, they tend to have less problems referring when they see the necessity.

Getting the right angle

So how do you get referrals from physicians? It takes some effort, and as with any other marketing tool you use, you must approach it from several angles.

Provide medical reports. The first step is to provide a medical report, which should be a simple, to-the-point report you complete on all new patients. It should include a brief history, examination, radiology findings, and a diagnosis, as well as a prognosis and expected time frame.

This helps keep your name in front of the doctor and should be part of your new patient paperwork protocol. All new patients to your clinic should have a report sent to their primary care physicians and any specialist they may have seen for the condition.

According to HIPAA guidelines, don’t forget to obtain the patient’s permission, which should be on the initial intake form.

Conduct “lunch and learns.” The purpose of lunch and learns is to meet physicians face to face. Regardless of the results you obtain with their patients, many physicians will still not be a strong referral source until you actually meet them.

It is good to be able to put a face to a name and once that meeting is made, the referrals usually begin. A lunch and learn can be you providing lunch for the doctor and his staff at his office or taking the doctor out to lunch at a local restaurant.

Your presentation should touch on the basics of chiropractic care. It must be well written, nonoffending, and presented in a positive, confident manner by memory. In the event the space is not suitable for a PowerPoint presentation, give a brief synopsis on chiropractic.

Keep it simple; in addition, explain the types of cases you typically see in your office. Let the physician and staff know you will make their referrals a priority and will get any of their patients in on the same day. Explain that you will send a report within 24 hours and always encourage the patient to follow up with their primary doctor post treatment — then make sure you do just that. Show that your word means something.

Things to bring to the meeting should include office referral pads and possibly pens or magnets with your logo on them. Always follow up your meeting with a note thanking them for their time and stating that you