Telehealth for Chiropractors Quick Start Guide

Telehealth is changing the way patients receive care that was, at one-time, only available in the office. Telehealth software makes it possible for chiropractors to provide flexible care for their patients from home-improving patient outcomes, retention, and overall patient experience.

While a patient meets with you comfortably from their home, you can check in on their progress, address issues or challenges, and aid with exercise and other recommendations.

With a Telehealth program at your practice, you can meet with your patients in real-time while maintaining HIPAA compliance and providing services over a high-quality video stream. The patient can be comfortable at home and doesn't need to make a trip to your office. Missed and canceled appointments are a productivity killer, so the flexibility of Telehealth appointments means your patients are less likely to cancel, decreasing the "no shows" on your schedule. This improves your scheduling capacity and maximizes your revenue.

Right now, many patients desire care that is comfortable and convenient-Telehealth allows for both. By offering these services and marketing them locally, you can anticipate a potential uptick in new patients and patient re-activations.

While telehealth is not intended to replace chiropractic care in a clinical setting, it is useful for many people. It makes your practice more flexible to meet the demand for this type of service. Telemedicine is becoming a service that more and more patients expect – so get on board to stay on the cutting edge.

Getting started with telehealth is easy. In this section, we'll break down what you need to know before you can start offering telehealth sessions in your private practice.

3 Steps to Getting Started with Telehealth

Getting started with Telehealth is easy. In this section, we'll break down what you need to know before you can start offering Telehealth sessions in your private practice.

3 Steps to Getting Started with Telehealth

• What technology to use

• What services to provide

• What promotions work

1. What Technology to Use

Telehealth Software Requirements

The most important thing you need when you start offering online care is a HIPAA compliant video conferencing system. Skype and FaceTime are not suitable long-term options.

Did you know, it’s illegal to send patients text messages about anything other than appointment reminders, without their documented consent?

Don’t worry, Rhinogram makes it super simple for people to communicate with your practice 24/7 via SMS text message and Facebook Messenger without the risk of violating HIPAA or other federal compliance laws.

In today’s day and age, offering the ability to communicate with your practice via asynchronous communication technology has many benefits for your patients and your practice. Eliminate the back and forth calling required when leaving voice messages. Eliminate the patient frustration of being on hold during prime time hours. Eliminate the risk of being non-compliant.

Simply add the right technology to your practice for the most efficient communication experience possible.

We recommend Rhinogram as our recommended HIPAA-compliant asynchronous communications platform. It’s by far the best thing we’ve seen on the market.

Instead, we recommend Doxy, which provides an easy to use, HIPAA compliant solution. As a bonus- the basic version is also free!

Telehealth Technology Checklist

To provide telehealth services, we recommend you have the following pieces of equipment:

• Computer, phone or tablet with a speaker, microphone, and camera.
• External microphone (if your device does not have one built in).
• External camera (if your device does not have a high-quality one built-in). • Headphones (if your device does not have high-quality speakers).

Additionally, you need to make sure you have a high speed internet connection. Use Google's speed test to test your internet speed. If your download or upload speed is below 3 Mbps, you should look into upgrading your internet connection. Additionally, before your begin your appointment it's a good idea to close all other browsers and applications to ensure a better connection.

Office Space

Another critical part of your Telehealth session is your office space. You must have a designated, secure space for your online appointments.

Here are a few things to keep in mind before you start your appointment:

Privacy: Select a space for your appointments that is private. Privacy laws still apply and you want to make sure that no one else can hear the conversation between you and your patient.

Noise Level: Ensure that there are no distracting noises during your appointment. This includes doorbells, televisions, lawnmowers, etc.

Visual Distractions: Your background shouldn't be too busy. We recommend having a plain colored wall, so it does not distract your patient.

Lighting: Try to maintain a consistent light throughout your appointment. Don't have a window behind you because your face will have a shadow. Make sure your face is lit well and in the middle of the camera frame. We recommend using a ring light or ensuring you have good natural light in your space. Try to keep curtains closed if a window is behind you; it will help your lighting and add privacy. Check out this lighting guide for more details.

Attire: Keep your dress professional, even if you're not leaving your house. Consider wearing you normal practice attire.

Eye Contact: Maintaining eye contact during your appointment is important. You want your clients to feel as if they have your full attention. Avoid doing other work, looking at different screens, or taking notes for long periods.

Pre-Session Prep

• Prepare for the appointment: It's a good idea to test out your Telehealth platform before your first appointment. Send a practice link to a friend or staff member so that you can experience the process without stress. You can make sure everything is work- ing correctly and lets you catch any problems before your actual appointment.

• Prepare your patient: Let your patient know what to expect. If they need any additional software, let them know in advance.

• Consent documents: If consent is required in your state, get it before your appointment begins.

• Find your state law by checking this website-CCHPCA here. Find your state on the interactive map and scroll down to consent.

• You can download additional samples of informed consent documents here: • American Telemedicine Association.

• Emergency services: Thankfully, we see very few emergencies, but be prepared. Since you are meeting them at a distance, it's essential for you and the patient to know where they can access emergency services, just in case.

Understanding Telehealth Billing

Telehealth billing and reimbursement, like all medical billing, is a confusing and constantly evolving topic. Constantly changing state regulations make it challenging to stay up to date. Many states now have enacted parity laws that require insurance payers to reimburse telemedicine visits just like in-person visits.

Learn more about specific reimbursement policies and what you should expect in terms of reimbursement using this resource:

• CCHPCA State Laws and Reimbursement Policies.
• American Telemed's State Policy Resource Center and State Toolkits.

Even after learning about your state reimbursement policies, you should always call and check with the insurance company before submitting claims. Most insurance companies have specific requirements when it comes to accepting Tele- health claims. Knowing payer-specific policy helps ensure you get paid promptly for the services you provide.

2. What chiropractic telehealth services to provide:

How do you choose which service(s) to offer via Telehealth?

We recommend that you discover the intersection of:

• What expertise do I like to share the most?

• What services do at-home clients need most?

• What services do at-home clients value most?

Ideas to Consider:

1. Organic Pain Relief Solutions for people at-home. What would you tell a family member who is experiencing pain but is physically unable to make it into your practice?

2. Check-up and Check-in ongoing accountability services for people at-home What would you say to a family member who is at-home and needs someone to

check-in on them to ensure they are staying calm and healthy during this time?

3. Special expertise: Ergonomics, Exercise, Yoga, Nutrition, Stress Management, Sleep coaching, Life coaching and more. People need your expertise and guidance during this time.

Did you know we recently partnered with WebExercises to offer every The Smart Chiropractor Members FREE account!



For example: There are likely more home offices being set up now than any time in his- tory. What do you know that can help people set up a healthy home office?

People need to stay fit with a new at-home stretching and exercise routine. What do you know that can help them?

• People need to know how to stay calm.
• People need to know how to eat well while at-home.
• People need to discover how to cope with this new level of stress.
• People need to know how to get a good night sleep.
• People need to understand how to navigate their new life and career.

The point is that you know a lot of stuff that can help a lot of people.

In the event you cannot physically provide services, what can you do to be of service to people who could benefit from working with and would be willing to pay you for your Telehealth services?

Promoting & Marketing Telehealth in Your Chiropractic Practice

You are now ready to start offering Telehealth appointments, but how do you get patients on your schedule ASAP?

Once you decide to begin Telehealth, you have to promote your services. Your patients won't know they can see you via video-conferencing until you let them know this service is now available.

Promote your new Telehealth service via your email list, website, newsletter, on all printed practice materials, and on your social media pages. Simply adding a line such as "Now offering Telehealth." can go a long way in getting you, new Telehealth patients.

Here is Your Social Plan for Telehealth. Post your announcements of Telehealth by:

1. Posting daily social graphics on Facebook and Instagram

2. Sending an automate email series to your email list

3. Posting promotional videos 3x week on Facebook

4. Institute a text scripts to text your list (with consent)

5. Begin calling your patients in reverse chronological order

6. Teach and Invite daily on Facebook and/or Instagram

If you’d like everything above delivered to you and automated please check out The Smart Chiropractor!

Offering Telehealth services also serves as a way to differentiate yourself from other health professionals, which can help you attract even more patients to your practice. When advertising, make sure to focus on the convenience and benefits, Telehealth can offer patients.

If you’re serious about offering telehealth (or serious about growing your practice) then check out The Smart Chiropractor. It will market your practice with a click of a button. Built on content you can trust- it has automated emails, text scripts, promotional videos, automated social graphics, call scripts, video scripts, and more to help you get telehealth appointments booked NOW!

Conclusion:

Chiropractors have been teaching the concept that being healthy is a byproduct of our ability to adapt to our environment. Well, it's time to practice what we preach.

Those chiropractors who reach out for help and successfully make this transition will thrive as a result of how they choose to handle these circumstances.

In months and years from now, the health care professionals who invest the time and effort to rise to the challenge of adapting their practices to this new environment will thrive.

By focusing your efforts on the principles we're sharing in this guide to "teach & invite, consistently" will be the practices that grow now and in the future.

Dr. Loniewski posted one of our The Smart Chiropractor video promotions and immediately received 3 appointments without an ad spend!

Facts About Telehealth in Chiropractic Therapy in Light of COVID-19

In the face of the COVID-19 health crisis, a lot of things are getting disrupted, including our health care system. With emergency rooms only accepting coronavirus patients- where do you go, and what do you do if you have back pain? 

Most major health organizations recommend chiropractic care as the first and best option for people struggling with back and neck pain.

But, if you shouldn't leave your house, how do you do get chiropractic care?

The excellent news is telehealth appointments with your chiropractor can help! What is telehealth chiropractic? Let's dive into the facts. 

Understanding Telehealth Chiropractic

Telehealth practices refer to the service of medical care through electronic communication. Often this includes video exchange for best quality

How do you do this with chiropractic? You can still evaluate movement, provide ergonomic recommendations, nutritional consultations, and at-home exercise recommendations- all through video. 

Expansion Telehealth Coverage

For many service providers, the most significant restrictions for telehealth is the lack of insurance coverage. 

The good news is that because of COVID-19, emergency changes have been made. Nearly all major insurance carriers are offering the ability to perform telehealth visits under your traditional insurance coverage.

More detailed documentation of all the changes and what they mean for health providers can be found here as well as more on the CMS webpage.

The Tech to Make It Happen

Technology such as iPads and iPhones provide us with a wide variety of methods to offer telehealth to patients. Now you can use any convenient video call provider to provide telehealth coverage.

Platforms like Doxy.me don't require you, or the patient, to have any additional hardware or software. Just click the link and connect. It's HIPPA compliant, easy to use, and provides a seamless patient experience.

Note that free apps like Facebook Live or Twitch are not good medical providers as they have no privacy security. 

There is no official endorsement of any single application, and you are welcome to find the service that works best for you and your patients. 

To help get the word out to your current and future patients, look toward better marketing materials using social media and more. 

Keeping up With the Chiropractic

Telehealth chiropractic can be a convenient and easy way to keep your patients active in their at-home care (stretches and exercises) in these trying times. Platforms like WebExercises (now included in The Smart Chiropractor) make it easy to create custom exercise templates and deliver them to your patients with the click of a button! 

In the meantime, there is still so much going on in the world of chiropractic care. From marketing trends to new technology, accelerating the growth of your practice can come from anywhere. Help us help you by looking into free our practice review. 

The Future of Social Media and Chiropractic: 5 Trends to Follow This Year

Are you looking to increase your social media presence? Online marketing is an effective way to grow your chiropractic business.

Learning about the future of social media helps you focus your attention on activities that will get results.

Building your social media presence can help you get more website traffic. It can help grow trust among followers and encourage people to schedule appointments.

Check out these five ways to use social media for your chiropractic business.

1. Build a Community

Social media for businesses isn't just about pushing out content. It's about building a community and connecting with your followers. 

Interact with people who follow your pages. Respond to comments and messages on social media. 

These types of interactions build a sense of community and make people feel comfortable with you. Your practice is a reflection of the amount of people who know, trust, and like you. Building a community of people online is one of the fastest ways to grow.

2. Use Video

Are you keeping up with the 87% of marketing professionals who use video?

If you're not using video, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to grab and hold attention.

Getting videos in front of your audience gives you a way to build relationships. When people see you, your staff, and your office on video, your practice becomes more familiar. They gain comfort when they can see what you're about.

It's also an effective way to deliver content the way users want to see it. Videos are easy to consume, so people can learn about your business while on the go.

At The Smart Chiropractor, we provide training for how you can shoot super impactful videos for:

• Motivational Monday

• Testimonial Tuesday

• Wake Up Wednesday

• Tactical Thursday

• Favorites Friday

Social media platforms make it easier than ever to incorporate video. Instagram and Facebook let you add videos to your stories. 

You can also do live videos on both platforms. Lives work well to promote special events you do at the office.

Live videos also strengthen relationships with followers. People can chat with you while you're live, so you can answer questions immediately and interact with viewers in real-time. 

3. Provide Education

A central part of your social media campaign should be educating your followers. Providing educational health information introduces people who aren't familiar with it, and it establishes you as a chiropractic expert. 

Statistics show that about one in four people think that chiropractic care is dangerous (which is crazy!). Over one-third aren't sure if it's dangerous.

By providing education through friendly, relatable content, you can help build trust in chiropractic care. Your content can help change minds and educate people on what's involved in assisting them to overcome concerns.

4. Take a Local Approach

Your chiropractic practice relies on local clients for business. Focus your online marketing and social media efforts on a local level.

Partner with other local businesses in the wellness field to promote one another on social media. You might invite a nutritionist to take over your Instagram feed for the day. Maybe you work together with another wellness business to create an educational series that you both promote on your channels.

These promotional techniques expose both of your businesses to new local followers. 

Use local hashtags and keywords on social media, including your city, state, county, and key features of your local area. This helps people find you online.

5. Set Yourself Apart

Your social media channels give you the perfect platform to show your personality. Use them to explain why your chiropractic office is the best local choice. 

Showing your face and letting your personality shine is one of the best ways to do this. Highlight your key office staff members as well.

Creating a branding guide helps you post consistently to create a specific tone for your business. If you're marketing to busy professionals, your phrasing and content might be different than it would if you were targeting millennials.

The Future of Social Media

Understanding the future of social media for chiropractors helps you gain traction and surpass your competition in online marketing. Providing education, connecting with followers, and being unique all help you build a strong online presence.

Looking for more ways to take your chiropractic business to the next level? Check out our free tools and our membership options to get the resources you need quickly.

Marketing Channels 101: Where You Should Be Marketing Your Chiropractic Content

Last year, Millenials overtook Baby Boomers as the largest generation. The surge of young immigrants seeking better opportunities helped.

It's important to know what marketing channels to use to reach this audience. Your chiropractic practice depends on drawing the interest of this demographic.

Check out where you should be concentrating your marketing efforts.

Social Media Strategy

Companies and businesses have forgotten the original purpose of social media and started pushing their products and services blindly. People get on social media to connect, not see advertisements.

Your strategy should be geared towards engaging with your clients and community. Offer great content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Post articles about how to improve posture or workout tips. Make yourself accessible and approachable by replying to comments and messages. Want to automated daily posting to your Facebook page that is research-based? Check out The Smart Chiropractor.

Video Outlets

Much of the population prefers to watch videos instead of reading articles. High-quality video production gives an image of professionalism and trust.

Use YouTube or TikTok for demonstrations or instructional videos. You can either target fellow chiropractors or patients.

Videos make people seem closer and more authentic. Be careful not to create videos that are too long. Less is more.

Make a video exciting but short. It's better if a person wants to watch repeatedly rather than quitting halfway through the video. Member of The Smart Chiropractor receive easy to follow video scripts each day (as well as done for you video!).

Podcasts

You probably won't have a large online following like the Joe Rogan Podcast, but people over the age of 12 listened to podcasts last year in record numbers.

Long-form audio content gives the creator ample opportunity to elaborate on topics. A podcast can be both informational and entertaining, while most marketing channels are only one or the other.

A great idea is to have a patient come on the podcast and talk about life before and after getting adjusted. You can also invite fellow area chiropractors or business owners to talk about family, practice, and health.

People want to know more about you, and this is a perfect way to do it.

Email Blasts

Email is a marketing channel that has existed since its for a while but still is extremely impactful. Adding email marketing to your previous touch points helps build your brand and develop potential leads.

Email marketing informs all your patients at once with one click. 

Providing a way to tell patients and the community the developments at your office ensures everyone is current. There are times people might think a business has gone under because they never hear anything from them.

Let the email blasts make people loyal to you. We have found tremendous success using a 3 pronged approach to email marketing- weekly newsletters to stimulate re-activations, event promotion sequences, and new patient on-boarding. We automate this entire process at The Smart Chiropractor.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth marketing is an excellent tool if you know how to jumpstart it. Turn your patients into free marketers. Start a referral program and give out discounts.

When a referral walks in the door and mentions the patient who referred them, give both a credit on their visits.

Employing All Marketing Channels

Your best bet at reaching broad audiences, including the Millenial generation, is by utilizing all the marketing channels together. 

If you need help developing the right strategy, contact us so we can help you market your practice.

Let the world know your practice is ready to serve them.

Are Your Emails Working? 9 Chiropractic Email Marketing Tips for Your Practice

Email marketing is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most preferred forms of digital marketing. You can significantly increase your business by sending emails, but your content must be relevant and useful. Check out these nine marketing tips for chiropractors to use emails that will help increase your sales. 

Click to Get a FREE High-Converting Email Newsletter Sample!

1. Use Your Official Company Email And Avoid Being Classified As Spam

No one wants to click on emails from unknown senders, so your business name should be used on your email address. Take some time to check out spam guidelines for different email platforms and do your best to follow the guidelines.

It is estimated that over 20% of legitimate emails get filtered to spam by mailboxes. Following guidelines will keep your emails from falling prey to your patients' spam filters. 

2. Have A Fascinating Subject Line

Most of the people that open emails end up opening them based on the subject line alone. This is why using exciting and captivating subject lines for your promo emails is essential.

To make your subject line compelling, make sure that it is concise and your customers' interest. Subject lines that raise questions your subscribers have will also encourage them to open your emails to find the answers they are looking for.

3. Make Your Emails Useful And Readable

Be sure that your emails keep your readers' interest by using strategies designed to make your content interesting and readable. For example, use at least one image to break the monotony of text. Also, use clear and simple language with short sentences and paragraphs.

Long blocks of tests have been proven to put off most readers. Your content should be interesting as well as useful to your readers so that they can continue clicking on your emails in the future. Try to get your emails are proofread by an editor because nothing displays unprofessionalism like a poorly edited document. 

While one of the main reasons for email marketing for your chiropractor business is to increase sales, your emails should not concentrate on closing sales. Instead, create value for your subscribers and develop a relationship with them. Once they like and trust you, they will be more likely become a future patient when hte need arises.

4. Optimize Emails for All Devices

It's crucial that your promo emails can be read on mobile phones, tablets, and different forms of computers. You don't know which type of device your subscriber will use to open your emails, so it's best to make sure they're included in optimization.

Send out a test email to yourself and see how it looks on different mediums. If it looks okay on both your mobile phone and desktop, then you’re clear to send it to readers. 

5. Keep Your Emails Clear and Focused

There are quite a few reasons why businesses send out emails. Some are transactional; for example, after someone become a patient, you can send an email thanking them and welcoming them to the practice. Operational emails, on the other hand, give clients updates about your business.

Finally, marketing emails will send out promotions for your goods and services. Your email should be focused on the benefits your practice can provide THEM, not the features of your services.

An email about your office renovations and temporary opening hours should not be mixed with an informational email about your latest treatment options. Emails that are all over the place tend to annoy subscribers.

6. Build a Targeted Subscriber List

Make it easy for potential patients to subscribe to your email list. For example, you may place subscription links on all your blog posts as well as on relevant pages on your website. Patients can also sign up for your newsletters or emails by filling in a visitors' book at your office. 

Don't request too much information when signing up subscribers, as this may put them off from wanting to join your list. Inform readers of the kind of information they'll be getting on your emails so that they can decide if they're going to be apart of your list.

Many users that unsubscribe from mailing lists do so because they did not get what they were expecting. 

7. Use Newsletters To Keep Your Clients Informed

Newsletters are the best way to engage with your subscriber list because you can put in a range of information such as educational information, operational details about your practice, and the latest industry news. Newsletters have proven to be very effective at generating patient referrals, patient loyalty, reactivation of patient memberships, and patient engagement.

Design your newsletter to match your brand image to reinforce your brand image with clients and ensure that you send it consistently, we recommend weekly just like we provide for all members of The Smart Chiropractor.

Click to Get a FREE High-Converting Email Newsletter Sample!

8. Have An Autoresponder Strategy For Different Subscriber Categories

It is a good idea to have a strategy for sending out emails to engage with new clients or clients in different categories. For example, new patients can receive a welcome email detailing what they can expect from your future emails. After this, a series of emails could be sent weekly, guiding them on important exercises they should be doing. 

Alternatively, clients that have bought or signed up for specific products or services can also get emails specifically targeted to their situations. Autoresponder emails over a certain period can increase client engagement and loyalty if done well.

9. Make Shareable Emails

If you are providing useful information in your emails, your clients will want to share them. Make it easy for them by providing social media links to share the emails.

You can also add a line for a CTA (call-to-action) on your emails, encouraging readers to share with anyone that might find the information useful. Sharing of your emails can increase your reader numbers and consequently improve your sales. 

Use Email to Market Your Chiropractor Practice

Emails are a great way to build a relationship with your clients and increase your sales. However, to succeed in email marketing, it must be done with the right strategies for your business; otherwise, you run the risk of losing clients.

Try applying some of the methods mentioned to your chiropractor practice marketing.

For help with marketing and growth for your business, check out our free tools today or become a member of The Smart Chiropractor for our fully automated email system + social media automation!

Click to Get a FREE High-Converting Email Newsletter Sample!