Time to Technologize Your Marketing?

PATIENT EDUCATION
Time to Technologize Your
Marketing?
By David Marcarian, MA and
Nancy Miggins, DC
G
enerating new patients is a constant preoccupation
for chiropractors. Unlike mainstream medical cohorts who enjoy a steady stream of sick and injured
clientele, chiropractors must expend a tremendous
amount of energy and resources to secure and maintain a viable patient base.
According to a survey conducted by Constant Contact, attracting new customers, engaging existing customers, and obtaining
referrals are the top concerns for small businesses. The most
effective means of accomplishing these goals required using
e-mail marketing.1 As chiropractors, we too are small business
owners.
Businesses across the board are changing their marketing strategies to focus on utilizing technology, the internet, and social
media platforms. Relying on passive strategies (i.e., business
cards or a Yellow Pages ad) worked extremely well in a thriving
economy with a population of people who communicated verbally. This simply will not cut it in this tech-savvy smartphone
era when patients trust information received electronically more
than clever scripts born of the ’80s. The economy is no longer
thriving, meaning it is time to adapt.
trying to mold patients to fit their practices, thus leading to true
patient-centered care.
The silver lining of our current economic slowdown is the
innovation that can come out of it. Industry leaders are creating products and services that mainstream chiropractic into
our high-tech, connectivity-dependent society. Do you want
to be truly effective? Meet patients where they live: on their
smartphones. If you do so in a professional, ethical manner
by providing impactful information that the patient considers
valuable, then respect and growth will be your rewards.
The “cause” in causal comes when providing patients with
spinal specific data that they can use to justify the need for care.
How often have you seen patients agree with your “paper and
pencil” treatment recommendation yet never return or follow
through? Too often for most, which is why it is critical to provide prospective patients with the evidence needed to overcome
their fears and establish objectively the need for care. This is
now commonplace and expected since every other venue of
health care does it. Would you seriously let a dentist drill based
upon his or her intuition or cleverly scripted “fear tactics”? Of
course not, and neither will your untrusting prospective patients.
Sadly, chiropractors ranked tenth in a recent Gallup poll rating honesty and ethical standards.3 Now you can use modern
technology to combat this image.
The business card is dying, as are other print materials used
for self-promotion. If people want to know who you are or
find your phone number or address, they will Google you. In
addition, direct mail is used less because the associated cost is
higher, the return on investment is lower, and it is difficult to
track the results accurately.
The fundamental concepts behind social media platforms have
transformed the landscape of marketing. Innovations in technology are driving powerful changes in how individuals engage
in health care delivery.2 These marketing mediums, combined
with industry innovations, provide the chiropractor with the ultimate power to engage patients in their health recovery process,
building stronger, long-lasting relationships. This has enabled
chiropractors to cater to the needs of their patients rather than
48 I The American Chiropractor I AUGUST 2013
A patient-centered care environment inspires causal motivation
that results in patients who want to comply with treatment programs and be the best they can be. People will work their hardest for something or someone in which they believe. Causally
motivated patients tend to be advocates for their chiropractor
and are great referral sources.
Patients benefit greatly from evidence-based communication
technologies, whether focused on general patient education,
sEMG findings, specific condition information, or health and
wellness topics. These tools reinforce the “why” of seeking
chiropractic care and put this information in the hands of your
advocates so they can easily share the information with others.
Mobile devices present a tremendous opportunity to provide
patients with even greater access to these powerful tools that
support the current dynamic in healthcare delivery.4
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PATIENT EDUCATION
To technologize your practice, consider implementing the
following:
1. Retire the posters hung with tape or thumbtacks and invest in
displays that can run a continuous loop of health and wellness
information oriented around your specific practice paradigm.
Customize the reel to include video snips of the doctor and staff,
simplified results of research studies, and pre- and post-exam
results from devices like digital x-ray or static sEMG.
2. Incorporate technology into your examination, report of
findings, and patient education efforts. Evidence-based, patientcentered tools will boost your credibility and provide your
patients with the validation they need. Immediately integrate
digital x-ray and sEMG/computerized range of motion. Hightech has become the expected norm within the evidence-based
healthcare model. Providing objective data to substantiate treatment is an integral part of modern day health care.
3. Meet your patients where they live: on their smartphones.
Take advantage of recent advances designed to help you connect on an entirely different level. Several consumer-friendly
mobile applications have bolstered the chiropractor’s technology toolbox, including new applications that automatically send
test results directly to patient’s smartphones.
4. Employ the efficiency of technology in your screenings,
either in-house or at an event. By using modern technology
like static sEMG to quickly show prospective patients their
potential spinal concerns and then sending test data directly to
To learn more, circle #43 on The Action Card
50 I The American Chiropractor I AUGUST 2013
www.theamericanchiropractor.com
PATIENT EDUCATION
their smartphones with your contact information, you increase
the yield from screenings tenfold because they know how to
reach you. Furthermore, you can utilize this technology to
obtain e-mail addresses for further follow-ups and scheduling.
5. Make your website simple and clean, but most importantly
“smartphone friendly.” The second patients hear about you,
they go directly to your website on their smartphones. A site
that is not smartphone friendly will be almost unreadable to the
patient, possibly ending their interest with frustration.
6. Opt for practice management software that provides patients
with a “portal” where they can complete patient forms, access
their medical records, make appointments, and pay co-pays. Utilize practice software to the fullest with automated appointment
reminders, newsletters, practice announcements, and e-vites.
Our society eats, breathes, and believes in technology. We don’t
trust information unless it has been “blessed” by a computer
of some sort and 80% of us are visual learners. So it’s understandable why the patient needs and wants visual confirmation.
If you do so in a web- and smartphone-friendly manner, your
practice will flourish.
Technology can be your best friend or worst enemy. By finding the best product and support for your needs, you will have
a great partner in building your practice. Follow some simple
guidelines and you will enjoy all the advantages of technology
without the stress.
References:
1. Dornaus, Erika The Health and Wellness of Small Business, Constant Contact White Paper, May 2012.
2, 4. O’rourke, K., Heckman, J., Elwood, D. Development and
Exploration of a Multifaceted Social Platform to Improve Patient
Education, Communication, and Activity, Medicine 2.0 ‘12:Boston,
USA, September, 2012.
3. Gallup Politics. Congress retains low honesty rating: Nurses have
highest honesty rating; car salespeople, lowest. Newport, Frank. Dec
3, 2012
Dr. Nancy Miggins has over 25 year’s clinical experience
as a chiropractor. She excelled in the areas of procedures,
ethical business practices and management. After spearheading the development of a integrative health and fitness
center, she spent 6 years as director of this clinic. Although
her main focus was in family practice, she also has aided Olympic
Athletes and professional cyclists with optimizing sports performance
through chiropractic. She is currently the Director of Clinical Applications & Product Development for Precision Biometrics, Inc.
Contact at : [email protected] or visit www.myovision.com or
call 800-969-6961
David Marcarian, MA, founder of Precision Biometrics,
and inventor of the revolutionary MyoVision 3G Wirefree
PhysioMonitoring™ System. A former NASA researcher,
Marcarian was awarded a $450,000.00 NIH grant to develop the MyoVision. As an expert witness, Marcarian was
credited one of the largest PI awards in US history, and established the
validity of sEMG in a major State Superior Court Decision. Recently
the AMA selected his 3G Wirefree System as the “tool of choice” as
presented in the medical text “The Practical Guid". Contact at : Info@
myovision.com or visit www.myovision.com or call 800-969-6961
To learn more, circle #43 on The Action Card
www.theamericanchiropractor.com
AUGUST 2013 I The American Chiropractor I 51