Tag Archives: network

An Inexpensive Method to Improve Chiropractic and Healthcare Patient Engagement

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gray haired woman reading letter from chiropractor

How to Keep Table Talk Going

The new staff member said she could help with marketing by posting photos on Instagram and Facebook. The doctor said great!

I noticed a photo of a patient or the doctor with a short comment for a few weeks.

I usually had to search for the image. It often had a few likes or hearts. Maybe 5 at most. Then it stopped. The staff member had taken on other duties.

I had been asking the doctor to send regular email newsletters to his patients. He didn’t seem that interested, but we said we would help him put them together which would cost less than $100 per month.

He got us the content, and we put the newsletter together and sent it out. On the 1st day, over 500 people opened and looked at his newsletter. These weren’t strangers. These were patients who knew him, liked him, and trusted him. Most of them just hadn’t been in to see him for a while.

Linda, our manager and service coordinator, just conducted a quick survey with some of our clients. She found that the offices that consistently send out personal email newsletters have all had a positive impact on their practices. They have improved patient referrals, reactivations, and patient engagement.

Some of the responses included: “Increases volume.” “Patients refer.” “They love the recipes.” “[Patients] come into the office and comment that they saw a particular condition talked about in the newsletter that the office was not aware the doctor could help them with.” “Great response when promoting [a new service].”

Social media platforms are entertaining. They have to be because they are in the advertising business.

But unless you pay them for ads, your posts are shown at the whim of the platform. You have no control. Your readers are entertainment seekers and, even if they see your post, are often distracted by other posts and ads.

I have seen ad agencies use social media effectively to generate leads that become new patients. It can be pricey but worth it if done correctly. Done now and then, expert advertising on social media for a special offer for a limited time can work.

But if you do not regularly send personal newsletters to your patient base, you are wasting some of the goodwill you have generated over the years.

A CHIROPRACTIC AND HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IS A NETWORK OF RELATIONSHIPS

A practice is grown and sustained through communication and service to your network. The quality and quantity of your network, and how engaged it is with you, is your practice goodwill.

We are now in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Communications are manufactured. In other words, more and more communication is just plain fake.

But you are not fake, and neither is the easy dialogue you have with your patients. More than ever, people want authentic communication and relationships. Social media posts and ads just can’t compete with your short personal newsletters.

Here’s some tips on how to get your personal newsletter done fast:

SETUP

  1. Email Coordinator. Assign a team member to help you with the newsletter. Give them 1 hour per week to do so.
  2. Email service. Use an email service like Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, or others. They will assist with the setup. Have the assistant complete the setup and update it monthly.

CONTENT

  1. Table talk. Think of a patient that you often see in your office. Imagine talking to them about a subject that you are currently thinking about. It could be headaches, low back pain, nutrition, posture, or really anything you’re feeling passionate about.

    Now, write about 2-3 paragraphs as if you were writing a letter to them about your thoughts. (Link below.)

  2. Recipe. People love these. Always introduce a recipe and personalize it. “This was my grandmother’s favorite rabbit stew.”
  3. Success story. Introduce it: “Mildred did great.”
  4. Promotion. Every few months include a special promotion.

You can certainly add other elements. But the most essential component is your original message. It is YOUR VOICE that keeps the conversation going.

Effective newsletters will improve patient retention and patient referrals and reactivate inactive patients.

Nurture and sustain the relationships in your practice.

And seize your future!

=====

Sample message from the doctor for the newsletter

“You know, when I was driving to work this morning I saw this fellow bent over with a walker walking down the sidewalk. I bet if I had seen him 10 to 20 years ago, he wouldn’t be in that condition.

It’s the whole idea of a hinge. If it isn’t used much, it will rust and get stuck. Your vertebrae are like hinges. You gotta keep them moving otherwise they will get stuck.

Exercise helps. So does stretching.

But now and then your hinges (vertebrae) can get stuck, and that’s when you wanna come on and see us.

Keep moving and stay unstuck, and have a great June.

Dr. Bob Marley”

Related articles for chiropractors and independent healthcare practices:

https://www.goaldriven.com/post/sample-patient-group-activities

https://www.goaldriven.com/post/part-2-of-the-best-known-marketing-secret

 

Ask Lisa: There’s Good News and There’s Bad News When It Comes To Insurance Networks

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picture of a woman There’s an old joke in credentialing providers. “The good news is you’re now in-network! The Bad news? You’re now in-network.”

Should you be “in-network” with a payer group, or out? It’s a tough choice and not a one-size-fits-all. So what do you do? First, ignore consultants that insist you must be or must NOT be an in-network provider.

Next, determine which companies you are in network with and assess. Do you have a contract? What are your provider obligations? Are you getting reimbursed what the contract’s fee schedule says it will reimburse? Are you currently enrolled in Medicare, and are you a participating or non-participating provider. Are you also currently enrolled as a provider in your state’s Medicaid program?

Make sure you have a profile set up with the national Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) universal provider database that the information is current, and re-attested quarterly. There is no charge to create and maintain your profile in this credentialing database.

Third, audit your patient demographic. Run a report in your practice management software. What percentage of your reimbursement is coming from insurance? What percentage is coming directly from patients? Which payers are you mainly seeing patients from? Are you finding that patients are requesting you be in network with a certain company? Who are the main employers in your area insured with? Are you enrolled as a provider with the Veteran’s Administration in your area?

Fourth, develop a spreadsheet called “Insurance Networks” to help you and your insurance department keep the information organized and up to date.

Once you have a grasp on the above, you’re ready to determine if you need to pursue network participation with additional companies. Treating this like a sales or business venture, you’ll want to have insurance companies coming to you and requesting you be in their network. Remember, it is to their benefit and their obligation to keep their paying policyholders happy. Patients should feel free to call their insurer requesting you be on their plan. Patients have done this, and outcomes have been successful. Why? Because the worst phone call an insurance company can receive is from an upset policyholder who can’t afford to see their favorite doctor who is helping them (that’s you!) because the doctor is not on the plan.

Additional items to consider prior to enrolling in a plan include:, What is the reimbursement rate? What percentage of the approved charges are taken out for contract discounts? Is there a fee to join? What are your provider obligations? Do they want you to participate in their workers compensation, PI programs? (In our experience, opting in to the WC and PI products means no steerage to you, and cut reimbursements). Are there pre-authorizations required prior to care? Is there a visit limit? What is the initial credentialing and re-credentialing process?

Now, you are on all the plans that are making your pocketbook and your patient happy. What do you need to do to maintain your in-network status? You will need to notify a payer with updated clinic information anytime there is a change in information you submitted at enrollment. This includes phone number change, address change, and adding a new provider to the office.

You will also need to ensure you track re-credentialing timeframes for each insurance company. Typically, the recredentialing process for commercial payers is every three years, but since your enrollments with each payer fall on different dates, your re-credentialing due dates will vary. Your Medicare re-credentialing is every five years. Re-validation with Medicaid programs is typically every three to five years, depending on your state’s standards. For example, it is every three years in WI and every five years in MI.

Many of the larger commercial payers such as Blue Cross, Humana, United Healthcare/Optum Physical Health, use CAQH to approve your re-credentialing. Those who do not will send a written communication via mail or email letting you know your recredentialing is coming due and will include the applications and instructions. Make sure to track these dates in your insurance spreadsheet.

We’ve just touched the surface of network plans and credentialing. PM&A can provide specialized and unique advice on making the choice of which networks to join, which to be out of network, and which to run away from!

Email me for assistance with how these processes work for your practice. You may reach me at lisa@pmaworks.com
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Anthem Chiropractic Network Reductions

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(Wisconsin, April 4) Chiropractors in WI received certified letters from Anthem BCBS announcing that they are initiating a sweeping reduction of their chiropractic provider network to supposedly “right size their provider network as a result of the ACA”.

According to Mr. Dave Michel of Petty, Michel & Associates, if you have one of these letters, you’ll be removed from the BX network on Sept 30 “without cause”, as allowed under your provider agreement.

He says that it looks like they may be targeting larger clinics in each city with higher utilization and also possibly those with a focus towards wellness,and that this doesn’t bode well for their customer base.

Dave mentioned that a similar tactic was used by insurance companies in Massachusetts with the introduction of “Romney-Care” in 2006 and after the hue and cry, chiropractic offices continued to grow. This has also been the case with offices that we have worked with when the doctor was booted from a network – stats go up!

In many cases, the out of network benefits are close to those in network.

Dave has written a letter that you can customize and send to your patients should you get hit by an insurance company claiming they need to “right size.” You can download a copy of this letter as a Word file with the link provided below.

A key to survival is patient education, not only on chiropractic, but also on chiropractic benefits. This is why we stress the Patient Financial Consultation, or the Post Report of Findings.

Lastly,  Dave recommended working together as a group with your state associations and respectfully confronting any insurance company that discriminates against chiropractic services with the facts.  And the facts are that chiropractic care doesn’t cost… it pays.

While you may not practice in Wisconsin, there may be a time when you receive such a letter and if you  do,  these suggestions  can help.

For PM&A clients, if you have received a letter like this, let us know and we’ll work with you on your options.

Sincerely,

Ed

Dave Michel’s Letter to patients: Anthem Termination Letter