(Painting by Norman Rockwell, 1943)

When you engage in work that taps your talent and fuels your passion  –  that rises out of a great need in the world that you feel drawn by conscience to meet  –  therein lies your voice, your calling, your soul’s code. (Stephen Covey)

For many of your patients, it may be difficult to tell how far to take precautions regarding COVID-19. Who can your patients turn to for a frank conversation and useful information?

Somewhere there is a middle ground between stockpiling hand wipes, toilet paper, and hiding in your bedroom and showing up at the gun show for a family barbecue and square dance. People are looking for reasonable answers without feeling that they are fearfully overreacting, or pridefully underacting.

You have to be that middle ground – and you can be. You do not have a boss that is beholding to Merck, or a company whose board members belong to the AMA. You are independent.

Use your voice and be a source of reason and information. Get in the conversation. You are only beholding to your patients and your community. They know your kids, and you know theirs. You are honest, thoughtful, and know that we are all in this together. You will ask your patients for their best advice on plumbing, cars, taxes, and other life needs. They will seek your advice regarding the best health for themselves and their family. You rely on them, and they rely on you – this year, now, and in the years to come.

Now is not the time to cocoon – not for you. Now is the time to speak up – to stand up.

Keep your practice open, but if not, keep communicating. Aside from seeing your patients in person, you can consider other activities that do not require face to face encounters:

• Use email and social media to promote health tips.
• Schedule webinars for health tips.
• Set up video or phone consultations. 15 minutes, $45 – $100. Send follow-ups and include in patient files. Offer discounts for patients who need it.
• Staff and doctors call patients for courtesy consultations. See how they are doing. Give them advice. Schedule them for an appointment as needed.
• Sell supplements at a discount if you can. (Suppliers may be backlogged.)
• Let us know about other outreach services you are providing!

You are a doctor – an educator, a leader. This applies to your team as well – they, too, are leaders and educators. Your community needs you now more than ever. Years from now, it will remember who was there, who stood up, who helped.

Use your Voice! Download the Poster Here

Always communicating,

Ed

We, too, are here to help.