Use enthusiasm to teach and spread the good news of chiropractic in your practice and online.
WHEN PATIENTS SHARE THE GOOD NEWS OF CHIROPRACTIC WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, it becomes your greatest advertising asset in the community.
The process starts with you constantly informing and sharing the message of chiropractic. After all, enthusiasm can be the most influential teacher of all.
A patient’s immediate goal is relief of discomfort. But as a chiropractor, you understand that the purpose of chiropractic far surpasses pain relief. Even though some patients may be satisfied with pain relief only, you want to educate and encourage them to set their health standards higher.
During the treatment process, patients typically receive the relief they initially sought from pain. Through the course of adjustments, however, additional health issues may get resolved as well.
Helping patients understand the wide-ranging benefits possible through chiropractic should be as vital as the treatments you give. What your patients don’t know could wind up hurting you both.
Patient education = patient referrals
For example: A man suffering with back pain sought chiropractic treatments after receiving a referral. After adjustments, not only did his back pain diminish, but he was also relieved of acid reflux. He did not realize that chiropractic was responsible for this health victory. Once informed, he began sharing the good news with others.
Do you have new chiropractic patients seeking relief of menstrual cramps? If not, you should. Many women could benefit from this effective treatment. How are you spreading the word?
In-office patient education starts the moment a new patient walks through your door, views the charts on your walls, watches the informational videos playing in the waiting room, and begins filling out your office forms.
As an experiment, take the current intake forms you are using and pretend that you are new to chiropractic.
What knowledge about chiropractic can be gleaned from these sheets? These forms are for gathering information for your use, right? Primarily they are, but included in the initial papers should be one that informs the new patient of chiropractic’s scope of care. Seize this opportunity to start the education process.
Alexander Sayas, DC, of Alabama Pain Relief and Wellness Center in Florence, Ala., answered the following question: What are some of the health benefits of receiving chiropractic treatments that people usually aren’t aware of? Sayas response was, “Acid reflux, TMJ, sinus problems, chronic ear infections, headaches, infantile colic, asthma, bladder problems, prostate problems, erectile dysfunction, irritable bowel syndrome, carpal tunnel, swollen ankles, and menstrual cramps are some of the health issues.”
Does the information and questions on your patient intake forms address the problems Sayas noted? If not, draft an information sheet that is easy for the new patient to understand. This can encourage your patient to inform and refer others for chiropractic care.
Patient education and referrals with social media
How are you informing your patients and community about the wellness benefits chiropractic offers beyond the information they read or hear in your practice? Patient education is by no means limited to your office.
Facebook can be your marketing chalkboard. Patients are more apt to read frequent short posts appearing on their social media sites than they are to visit a website and read lengthy articles on a regular basis.
Post weekly wellness tips and the latest health updates on your social media chalkboard to further inform your patients. Not only will they be encouraged to make healthier choices in their own lives, but they will be more likely to recommend chiropractic to others.
Encourage your patients to inform and recruit the people they care about. The social media chalkboard not only serves as a source for sharing the good news of natural health and wellness, but also endorses chiropractic to the community you serve.
Enthusiasm is contagious. Use it to teach and spread the good news of chiropractic in your practice and through your online social media tools. It’ll keep your patients coming back for more — and bringing their family and friends along.
