Still In Chiropractic School? Start Building Your Referral Network Now!

It is truly never too early to start building your network.  If you are still in chiropractic school (and know where you are headed after) then I would encourage you to begin building your network immediately. 

     Once in practice, it takes some time to develop your reputation and presence in a community.  By starting while you are still in chiropractic school, you will have a big advantage upon your start in practice.  Whether you planning to be an associate, independent contractor, or going into solo practice; starting early on your network is a good idea.

     Thankfully, you have access to computers and technology which connects people with a speed never seen before.  I would highly recommend building and establishing a professional chiropractic page.  For an in depth tutorial regarding this I recommend Dr. Riekeman and Dr. Deitch’s series of webinars.  At the most basic level, it is important for you to “like” and interact with businesses in your area.  Additionally, you should post content which will be valuable for the individuals following your page.  This may be inspirational, motivational, health living, fitness tips, etc.  I would recommend not posting daily “pro” chiropractic messages, but rather focus on the current desires of the community in which you intend to practice.  Once you have a following on Facebook, it will be easier to promote and make announcements regarding you office when it opens.  You will hit the ground running. 

    Secondly, I highly recommend immediately starting your outreach and marketing with other physicians near your soon to be practice location.  Developing a list of medical doctors and beginning monthly marketing through research will establish your identity with those physicians.  Ideally, I recommend actively and consistently marketing towards 40-80 doctors, however, even starting with 20 during school will give you a huge advantage once you begin practice.  Starting with specialties such as Primary Care, Orthopedics’, Pediatrician’s, and Internal Medicine is recommended because these physicians see the most patients which would be appropriate to refer for your care.  If you have access to peer-reviewed research journals (SPINE, Annals of Internal Medicine, etc) at school then you should be able to accumulate a substantial amount of content.  However, be careful.  With the speed of social media and publishing, it is essential to use recent and up to date research when marketing.  If you do not have access to these journals, or do not have the time to research, design, test, and implement your findings into powerful research briefs, then please contact me.  I provide monthly research briefs designed to stimulate relationships and referrals.  Currently, I am the only chiropractor actively practicing in a large orthopedic group who has the experience, access, and insight to deliver these “actionable” briefs. 

   Most of all, remember that marketing is a consistent and always evolving art.  By starting early, you will maximize your success.

Healthy Eating Plate from Harvard School of Public Health

Recently, the Harvard School of Public Health revealed their own version of the ​USDA "My Plate".  The interesting fact about the Harvard recommendations are that they were not influenced by any lobbying group.  The USDA 'Food Pyramid', and more recently 'My Plate', were heavily influenced by lobbying groups. 

I believe the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate is by far the best and most accurate eating guide out there.  ​

What are your thoughts?  ​

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Hospital Charges Come to Light

Last week a massive database of hospital charge information was made public. While many factors effect how much a hospital charges for various services, it is important for consumers to be aware of resources such as this database. I do not recommend making health care decisions based on charge information; but I do fully embrace the desire and need for transparency and accountability relating to health care costs. What are you thoughts?

More information, including links to the database at - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/hospital-prices-cost-differences_n_3232678.html

Building Your Physician Contact List

Chiropractic marketing and outreach to Medical Doctors

So you have made the decision (a wise one) to begin outreach to medical doctors in your town.  Where do you start?  Building your physician list is the first step towards creating a consistent and sustained outreach program in your circle of practice.  I highly recommend downloading our Free Evidence Based Chiropractor Monthly Tracking Sheet right here.  This sheet keeps your contacts tidy and allows you a quick glance at your progress during the year. 

Your marketing and outreach will only be as good as the list you are using.  Determining not only the number of doctors on your list, but the types of doctors is crucial.  I highly recommend having roughly 50 physicians on your list.  For some of you in rural areas, 50 doctors may be extending 10 miles of more from your practice.  While others, in more urban environments may have 50 doctors within 3 or 4 blocks.  For those of us in the suburbs, a list of 50 doctors within 5-7 miles of your practice will be easily attainable. 

There are 3 great resources to curate your list.  The first is the WebMD physician search, located HERE.  They make it easy to search by specialty and location while retaining a high quality and thorough list.  WebMD physician search is a key piece to creating your list.  Two other search engines include the ZocDoc search, located HERE, and a good old fashioned Google search. 

The types of specialists I recommend reaching out to include Primary Care Physicians, Internists, Family Physician, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Neurologist, OB/GYN and Pediatrician.  You will tailor this list depending upon your practice style. 

Now that you have a working list I highly recommend calling the offices to confirm the address and doctor.  If you do not, you may end up wasting time, energy, and postage.  When calling the list I usually state, “Good morning, this is Dr. Langmaid from ABC Chiropractic Office.  I am calling to confirm your address at 123 Main Street, and also that Dr. Smith is still practicing at your location.”  If yes, then a simple “Thank you, have a great day” is sufficient.  A “no” will either equal a new address (which is important to update) or that Dr. Smith changed offices.  This is important because you are then able to ask the new address of Dr. Smith’s office, AND you can find out the new physicians name and specialty. 

These are the basics for forming your physician mailing list.  If you are too busy to create your own list, then please contact me HERE and the Evidence Based Chiropractor will help you create a list which will reap rewards for years to come. 

If you are not already actively and consistently engaging referral sources in your community (i.e- other physicians) then please contact us to get started today!  

I practice within a large orthopedic group and have developed experience and expertise in expanding and developing interdisciplinary referral sources.  Many of our members are receiving significant ROI and developing relationships which will lead to referrals for years to come.   I look forward to working with you.

Join us by January 31st and receive zip code exclusivity AND a 30 minute implementation call in addition to immediate access to our Members Vault and your customized MD Research Brief.  Memberships starts at $25 with no contract!

-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the fastest growing chiropractic outreach group in the profession.  The service is dedicated to increasing chiropractic utilization by showcasing research.  Marketing to medical doctors through research is efficient, cost effective, and can dramatically improve your incoming referrals.  Join us.  Lets grow chiropractic together.

Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy

Chiropractic care is proven to be an extremely safe and effective treatment option for pregnancy related low back pain.  ​

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