How to Get Referrals with Chiropractic Case Notes | FREE Template

Are you sending case notes?

If you're like most docs I speak with the answer is unfortunately "no." Maybe you think it takes too much time, perhaps you don't know what to send.

Either way, if you are not sending chiropractic case notes, then you are missing out on an enormous opportunity to showcase the co-management of patients, show off the fantastic results of your care, and begin the process of building referral relationships.

Sending chiropractic case notes is the foundation of building referral relationships with other healthcare providers in your community. If you think you are too busy, or that case notes are a waste of time- then keep reading. It's easier, faster, and more impactful than you think.

This article will show you the four key elements to have on every single case note that you send. Additionally, I'll show you the best time and cadence to send those notes (it's NOT on every visit). By the end of this short article, you'll have all the information you need to send out effective case notes quickly, start bridging the gap, and begin building referral relationships.

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Spoiler alert: Case notes alone have never flooded a chiropractic office with referrals. Sending notes is not a silver bullet to building a relationship. But, sending timely and well-crafted case notes is an essential foundational layer of our physician outreach.

Benefits of Sending Case Notes:

1- Showcase the Great Results You Get with Your Patients (B2B Testimonial)

2- Social Proof of Co-Management

3- Additional Marketing Touch Point

I like to think of case notes as patient-centric testimonials. Most practices are hyper-focused on getting Facebook ratings and Google reviews. These type of reviews are known as B2C marketing. They are business (B) to (2) consumer (C) outreach. Reaching out with B2C testimonials is great...but, what about the other half of the coin?

The other half is your B2B channels. These are your business to business testimonials- and there is no better B2B communication than a case note. Your case notes show the social proof that you are actively co-managing, as well as the fantastic results you get with your patients in your practice.

If I asked you the question of what percentage of your patients leave your office happier and healthier than when they first walked in, I bet your answer would be over 90%.

My next question is, how often have you taken the additional 2 minutes to create a case note that shows off those unbelievably fantastic results? Probably not as often as you could or should!

Not sending case notes showing off the results of your care and the improvement of your patients is a huge missed opportunity that you need to start taking advantage of immediately.

So how often should you send case notes?

We have seen the best results by sending case notes at initial evaluation, any re-evaluation, and discharge from active care.

Discharge from active care is defined as the last visit before a patient goes to as needed, PRN, maintenance, or wellness care. Anytime you are billing a 99201-99204 or 99212-99214, that is a good indication that you should be sending a case note.

What to include in your case notes:

The 4 Essential Components of a Case Note

1. Patient Name

2. Date of Service

3. Diagnosis

4. Treatment Plan

Your case notes should not be long and include every test under the sun. Powerful, effective case notes are typically concise (under 1 page) and contain four critical pieces of information.

Get a FREE Case Notes Template!

Just as a primary care doctor doesn't care about what size screw a surgeon uses during an operation, they don't care about every single orthopedic test you performed.

They do care about, who did you see (patient name), when did you see them (date of service), what did you find (diagnosis), and what are you going to do about it (treatment plan)? Keep it simple.

In an ideal world, your case note should be leaving your office as a one-page document. I say that for pragmatic reasons. When I was working in large scale orthopedic groups, we'd continuously get case notes from doctors in the community.

Unless they were relating to an emergency, the notes would be put into the patient chart by a medical assistant and not looked at until the patient came back into the office. The patients next appointment could have been two days, two weeks, or 2 months after the case note was sent.

Let's get real if the doctor is walking down the hall ready to see the patient, and they open the chart to find a 10-page case note from you...it's not getting read! But, what if they open the chart and see a one-page note which clearly and concisely shows your name, the patient diagnosis, the date of service, and the expected treatment? You now have a high likelihood of them opening the door and asking the patient how they are doing in your practice.

As we went through earlier- the odds are in your favor! Chiropractors typically have sky-high patient satisfaction and remarkable results. So there is an excellent chance that the patient will praise your care- which is precisely the "win" you are looking for.

Think about how many patients you see each month in your practice. Then, think about how many in-active patients have been in your practice since you opened your doors.

Now imagine you had sent case notes for every eval, re-eval, and discharge visit for these patients. You could have hundreds, thousands, or maybe even tens of thousands "touches" to other healthcare providers showcasing the great results that you achieve. I KNOW that would make a massive difference in how many referrals you get each month.

Before you send a case note, you need to know who you are sending it to. The easiest way to do this is to make sure you have a spot on your intake form for patients to enter their primary care doctor.

Typically, this will be filled out 50-60% of the time. When it's left blank, I recommend asking a simple question:

“Hey, John, I noticed you left this blank. We'd love to have that information to communicate and coordinate your care. Do you mind if we have your primary care doc name?"

By asking that question, you should be able to collect the primary care doctor information on 90% of the people who begin care in your practice.

Case notes are one leg of the referral relationship stool. The others are sending research updates (marketing) and taking meetings (trust and rapport). At The Evidence Based Chiropractor, we've had the honor of working with hundreds of chiropractic practices. Using our system, they have generated tens of thousands of referrals that have resulted in millions of dollars in additional revenue.

Think about the amount of time you spend with your patients during treatment. Think about the energy, effort, and expertise it takes to help them get well. To not take 5 minutes and show off your results with case notes is crazy!

If you want to start getting more referrals from other physicians in your community, then become a member of The Evidence Based Chiropractor. I'd love to work with you. You'll receive the entire process, tools, support, and systems needed to bridge the gap. Get out there showcase your practice and improve the health and well-being of the people in your community.

Get a FREE Case Notes Template!

Is Your Child's Backpack Causing Lifelong Health Problems?

How heavy is that backpack?

Even though an iPad can store an entire library worth of books, most kids still trudge to and from school each day carrying an oversized and overweight backpack filled with heavy textbooks.

While it may not seem like a big deal, recent studies have shown that carrying the weight of a typical backpack is one of the top reasons for kids to have back pain. 

Why it Matters:

A vast majority of kids wear backpacks every day that weigh 15 lbs or more. That’s a heavy backpack! Over time the stress of the load can result in back pain, a rounding of the shoulders, and postural changes.

The spinal compression caused by heavy backpacks often has kids leaning forward to compensate, which begins a vicious cycle of postural issues, compensation, and pain. 

- Up to 30% of kids may suffer from back pain due to carrying a heavy backpack

- Limiting the total weight of the backpack to less than 10% of your child’s body weight is recommended 

- Wear your backpack with both shoulder straps fit snugly, so the backpack isn’t carried below the waistline 

Next Steps: 

Kids typically choose their backpack based on what makes them look cool. We recommend taking a second look and making sure the straps are wide and padded, the size is appropriate (and not too big), and that it has compartments to help distribute the load.

If your child has pain, numbness, or tingling; give your chiropractor call- they will be happy to help get them back on track! 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A BACKPACK RESEARCH BRIEF!

Science Source: 

Backpack weight and back pain reduction: effect of an intervention in adolescents. Pediatric Research 2018

Stenosis of the Spine: The 3 Most Common Types

Stenosis is a narrowing the nerve channels in and around your spine, which can result in pain, numbness, and fatigue. This condition affects millions of people per year and is the #1 cause of spine surgery for people over the age of 40.

For most people, the symptoms of stenosis usually start with a simple case of low back or neck pain. Over time, the pain may progress towards numbness and tingling that travels downs your arms or legs. In this article, I'll break down the three main types of stenosis. Once you can identify the type of stenosis you have, you'll be empowered to take the first steps towards finding lasting relief.

Get a FREE Research Brief Showing the Results of Chiropractic with Stenosis

The 3 Types of Spine Stenosis

Spinal Stenosis:

Spinal stenosis is pinching or compression on your spinal cord. Between the bones, or vertebrae, of your spine, are your spinal discs. The discs act as small spacers between the bones and allow your spine and body to move in a variety of directions.

Behind the disc is a large canal or hole in each bone. That hole is your spinal canal and is the channel that your spinal cord travels down. When a disc, bone, or ligament gets into the spinal canal, whether due to injury or age, it can cause compression on the spinal canal. This compression is called...spinal stenosis.

The hallmark of spinal stenosis is numbness and tingling into your legs and feet. Also, you may notice your endurance starts to decline. Where you used to be able to walk around the entire grocery store, now you may only make it up and down an aisle or two before you notice yourself leaning on the carriage to provide support and relief.

Many people suffering from spinal stenosis eventually feel like they are always "looking for the next chair." If that statement resonates with you, then you may have spinal stenosis.

Also, spinal stenosis tends to affect both legs evenly. If you have pain or numbness only down one leg that you may have foraminal stenosis, which we will dive into next.

Foraminal Stenosis:

The second most common type of stenosis is called foraminal stenosis. Foraminal stenosis is what many people know as a "pinched nerve."

While the spinal cord travels up and down the backside of your spine, your nerve roots exit out the left and right sides of the bones. These nerve channels are called the foraminal canals. If a disc bulge, bone spur, or ligament overgrowth encroaches into the canal, then it can cause compression that is called foraminal stenosis.

Foraminal stenosis typically results in extreme pain or numbness down one arm, or one leg is depending upon whether the pinch is occurring your neck or back.

A compression in your neck would cause arm pain/numbness, where a pinch or compression in your low back would cause symptoms into your legs.

It's also important to keep in mind just how small these nerve canals are. At about 10 mm in height and 8 mm in width, there isn't a lot of wiggle room. Even a disc bulge or herniation of 3 mm could decrease the size of the canal by nearly 30%!

Lateral Recess Stenosis:

Lateral recess stenosis is the third most common form of stenosis. This occurs when compression occurs at the junction point of the spinal cord and nerve root.

The spot where the nerve root branches off the spinal cord is referred to as the lateral recess.

In private practice, I would often see lateral stenosis accompany either spinal or foraminal stenosis. Since the nerve root is not protected by the outer laters of the spine at the lateral recess, it's "unprotected." The lack of protection by the spinal cord leaves the nerve root exposed, and compression at this spot (the lateral recess) tends to result in piercing, sharp pain down the arms or legs.

Like spinal stenosis and foraminal stenosis, lateral recess compression can occur due to disc, bone, or ligament encroachment.

Get a FREE Research Brief Showing the Results of Chiropractic with Stenosis

Next Steps:

Once you can identify the type of stenosis you're dealing with; now you have the opportunity to seek out the best treatment possible to find relief.

The good news is that regardless of which type of stenosis you are suffering with; conservative care such as chiropractic is still the best first option (in the absence of red flags).

Researchers have actually discovered that chiropractic care and adjustments can provide equal (and in some cases more) relief than injections, medications, and surgery.

“Improvement (with conservative care) was self-described as “good” or “excellent” in 80% of patients.” - JMPT, 2009

The Top Chiropractic Podcasts You Should Follow

Line these chiropractic podcasts up for your morning commute.

Which chiropractic podcasts are worth listening to? It's a great question, and we've made it easy for you by rounding up the five best chiropractic podcast for once and for all.

Whether you are an all action sports chiropractor, research-based pain relief specialist, or wellness advocate- there is a chiropractic podcast featuring information that will help you grow your practice.

Podcasts are exploding in popularity for a few reasons. First is the fact that you can listen anywhere- even while driving your car or working out. Usually, these aren't times where you want to be watching videos or reading articles! Also, most podcasts present their content in a way that is fun, exciting and leaves you wanting more.

The chiropractic podcasts featured below showcase an array of information- from in-depth interviews with industry heavy hitters, practical marketing advice from the trenches, to showcasing the research that matters- they provide a venerable masterclass in modern chiropractic practice. All of them featured a patient-centric approach that ties directly to modern chiropractic practice building.

If your goal is to stay up to date on research, hone your craft at marketing, and learn about industry news and happenings- podcasts are the ideal choice.

The Modern Chiropractic Marketing Show-

The Modern Chiropractic Marketing Show is a podcast which offers practical marketing tips, exciting interviews, and proven strategies for practicing docs. Hosted by Dr. Kevin Christie, a fantastic chiropractor practicing in South Florida, this podcast features a bunch of tactics and information that Kevin has personally used in his practice. For listeners interested in chiropractic marketing advice that has been battle-tested, The Modern Chiropractic Marketing Show is a must listen, someone who has scaled multiple practice locations has been involved with the NFL, and regularly attend entrepreneurial conferences, Kevin is a great mentor for many chiropractors in the trenches.

Chiropractic Science-

Chiropractic Science is a podcast focused on the research. If your an evidence-informed doc that geeks out on the latest research, a subscription to Chiropractic Science is in order. This podcast examines the most recent research and interviews many of the researchers, giving you a behind the scenes look at what it's like to produce modern chiropractic research. Not afraid to get into the details- Chiropractic Science is the PubMed of chiropractic podcasts.

The Evidence Based Chiropractor Podcast-

Offering chiropractic research and marketing each week in the time it takes to get to your office; The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the official podcast of this website. Approaching nearly 200 episodes, The EBC Podcast provides listeners with research updates and marketing strategies that can be immediately implemented in their practice. Research can be super, and marketing can be super complicated- The EBC Podcast does the hard work of sifting through the information, picking out the gold nuggets that can impact your practice, and delivering those nuggets on a silver platter every Monday morning.

Black Sheep DC Podcast-

Hosted by Jerry Kennedy, Black Sheep is a podcast that takes an unfiltered look at chiropractic practice. Whether it's evaluated hot button topics, showcasing high leverage marketing tips, or interviewing trendsetters, Jerry isn't afraid to dive deep. Relationship marketing is a hallmark or tenant of the podcast, and Jerry delivers incredibly valuable information for new, and seasoned docs, who are looking to grow in an ethical, patient-centric way.

Forward Thinking Chiropractic Alliance Podcast-

As the official podcast of The Forward Thinking Chiropractic Alliance you know host Dr. Bobby Maybee isn't afraid to tackle the tough issues affecting chiropractors around the world. Interviews with heavy hitters, previews of upcoming events, and tactical information for evidence-informed docs have all been featured on the Forward Podcast. Based on the guest list of interviews, it would be easy to shrink; but Bobby does a great job of stepping up, leaning in, and getting his guests to unpack their experience and knowledge base.

Clinic Gym Radio Podcast-

Do you like movement and health? Do you cringe at 3x wk forever treatment plans but secretly wish there was a better way towards financial freedom practicing in an ethical, patient-centric way? If so, you’ll love Josh Satterlee’s Clinic Gym Radio Podcast.

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The 3-Step Chiropractic Marketing Success Strategy

“I’d like to learn a confusing, expensive, and unproven system to market my practice.”- said no chiropractor ever

Have no fear! You’re about to discover a simple, 3 step marketing strategy that you can use to generate more new patients, drive more traffic to your website, and build your reputation in your community.

I’ve met a ton of docs who have built impressive followings on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. And I’ve met even more docs that want to build a big audience.

But don’t confuse vanity metrics (like follower count) with engagement, trust, and new patients.

It feels great to build a big following. Heck, content production and audience creation is step 1 of the process as you’ll see below. But second and third step is where all of the real opportunity sits.

By creating an easy to follow system and process- your practice will be able to produce a dependable and consistent new patient flow, decrease your overall marketing expenses, and grow at a faster rate.

How do I know?

I’ve seen it first hand.

The 3 Steps Chiropractic Marketing Strategy includes:

1. The Content Factory

2. Lead Magnet Attraction

3. Follow Up for Success

This marketing strategy is used by many of the most successful companies in the world- and it can work for you too.

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Having a proven chiropractic marketing strategy doesn't mean you need to use sleazy or cheesy sales tactics.

A great marketing strategy won't feel marketing it all. It's merely a way for you to provide value to the people in your community, in a patient-centric way, that will enable them to achieve better overall health and well-being.

If you’d rather watch than read; you can check out the video below!

1. The Content Factory

The heart of any solid chiropractic marketing strategy is content production. Putting out content online is how you can get people paying attention to you.

If someone doesn’t know you exist- they’ll never become a patient.

You may be wondering if there is an alternative to content production. The answer is yes. The alternative is to buy advertising. There is nothing inherently wrong with this approach; except that it can be expensive! Producing content is much cheaper than advertising when building a relationship based on trust, rapport, and expertise instead of discounted services.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself about content production:

• are you building your “know, trust, and like” factor each day online?

• do they know you, your staff, and your practice (even if they haven’t come in as a patient yet)?

• are you creating weekly video content that highlights the latest research that matters, why it matters to them, and the action steps they can take to benefit their life?

Your answer to all 3 of these questions should be a resounding “YES.” If not, then content production needs to be your #1 short-term goal.

Let’s breakdown the three primary avenues of content production.

VIDEO:

The best way to put out content is through video. Creating videos is, by far the most powerful way to connect with the people in your community. As a bonus, nearly every social platform (including Facebook) currently favors video and will help you reach more people than if you posted just an image or text.

Click Here to Get a FREE Video Script

For those of you who are looking to boost posts and put a little ad spend behind your videos on Facebook- you should be able to get down to less than $0.05/view. That means you should be able to get over 1,000 people in your community to see your video for under $50 bucks!

The keys to creating excellent video content are to be: engaging, educational, and entertaining. If you are new to video, then I recommend picking up my video script above.

PICTURES:

The second best way to put out content is with pictures. Facebook, Instagram, and many other social platforms are visual by nature.

Eye-catching images are a great way to get attention and start getting clicks and traffic back to your website. Best practice includes posting at least 3x wk to your primary social platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Grab a free social media graphic pack below to get started.

GET A SET OF FREE SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS!

TEXT/BLOGS:

Finally, you have the option to distribute content and information as text (or blog). Most written pieces or blogs will still have some image attached to them, but there are some exceptions where you may post just text without and pictures.

Also, don’t forget that written blogs can be used as patient education handouts in your practice!

Click for a FREE blog post

2) Your Call to Action and Lead Magnet Attraction

The goal of putting out this content is for the viewer to take an action step. In the marketing world, this is called a “call to action” or CTA. What do you want the person to do after watching your video, seeing your picture, or reading your blog?

Nearly every piece of content you put out should have a call to action.

One of the most potent CTA’s you can use for your practice includes getting someone to give you their email address in return for information. This information is usually in a PDF or video form and is commonly referred to as a Lead Magnet.

For example, if you create a short video highlighting an exercise that can help reduce back pain, you may want to have a CTA that asks your viewers to learn more by getting your 3 Steps to Reduce Low Back Pain guide (which is the lead magnet).

Your call to action should include the following elements:

1. clear and direct

2. short and easy to understand

An example of a Lead Magnet

A few examples to great CTA’s include:

- Get Daily Health Updates By Subscribing Here

- Struggling with (condition), Call Today

Remember- the goal of your call to action is simple- get the viewer to take action!

A good lead magnet is one of the best ways to build your email list, provide valuable health information to your community, and consistently generate more new patients who already know/trust/like you.

The key to a good lead magnet is that it should provide information directly in line with the original content. In other words, if you have a video about headaches and your lead magnet shouldn’t be related to how you can identify the healthiest ice cream! Ideally, you want your lead magnet to extend the conversation, or go more in-depth on the topic.

Also, don’t forget about convenience. Some of my best performing lead agents are just PDF’s of the blog (the content piece) itself. People are busy- so giving them the option to download the blog as a PDF so they can reference later is convenient, easy, and can lead to very high conversions.

But don’t stop at step two.

Delivering your lead magnet is the beginning of the exchange, not the end.

3) Follow Up for Success

And number three follow up with email.

Sending a consistent email over a long period (known as a long-term drip or nurture sequence) is a critical final step of the strategy.

By sending consistent (in most cases 1x week is enough) you can build a deeper relationship, stay top of mind, and continue to provide value. Who do you think will be the first person they reach out to (or recommend to others) for care? A long-term email drip sequence can ensure it’s you!

You don't need to be hitting people three times a day. Don't get crazy. But if they have opted-in for your lead magnet, they want to know more. That's the exchange.

Start by delivering your lead magnet and then follow up and expand into some other areas of interest as well.

Dripping content does not mean that you should overwhelm your audience with a tidal wave of junk. That’s called spam, and no one likes it.

Make sure that you're putting out excellent content. Make sure that you have a friendly, tight call to action and lead magnet right in line with it. Follow up with an email after that.

This is the engine that can drive results for your practice.

Comment down below. I'd love to know if this is valuable for you and the first action step you intend to take!

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I know a lot of docs that struggle with the time and expertise to market their practice effectively. So I have developed the key tools that can make this process super easy for you and your practice.

The Smart Chiropractor is a complete content production factory. We supply you with social media graphics, blogs posts, videos, video scripts, trainings, fully automated email follow up (ChiroEmails is built in!), and much much more.

Or, if you have your social channels rocking and are just looking for email automation- check out ChiroEmails which is our full service email automation platform for chiropractor. We give you all of the automations and content!