Referral Patterns of Primary Care Physicians and Chiropractors- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Our July 2014 MD Research Brief is set to look at a piece of research from BioMed Central titled, "Referral Patterns and Attitudes of Primary Care Physicians towards Chiropractors".  This should be considered essential reading for any chiropractor looking to establish interdisciplinary referral relationships.  

In short, they found that "87% of MD's reported that their patients had asked them for information about chiropractic, and clause to 75% of PCP's have patients who have requested a referral to a chiropractor".  This is great information.  We can concluded that nearly every (over three-quarters) of PCP's have patients interested in chiropractic care.  However, they also found that "only 24% of DO's and 29% of MD's had themselves formally referral a patient to a chiropractor".  This is a huge opportunity.  Patients are asking about chiropractic care and their PCP's are making scant referrals.  By building the relationships with these physicians and showcasing the efficacy, safety, and satisfaction associated with chiropractic care, you can position yourself as their first referral choice.  Our friends and neighbors are counting on us.  We provide one of the best conservative care options in the history of healthcare!  

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

Finding Your Tribe- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Building a practice based on interdisciplinary referrals is one of the most affordable and effective ways to grow a practice.  It does not happen overnight, and it takes consistency; but the results speak for themselves.

Some chiropractors may cringe when thinking about relationship building with Medical Doctors, while others may welcome the idea with open arms.  One extremely important point regarding relationship building is that you should focus on the providers whom you resonate with!  If you have a cash practice which only provides care for full families then I would encourage you to build relationships with pediatricians and OB/GYN's.  Perhaps you have additional credentialing in sports chiropractic.  It would be advantageous for you to reach out to sports medicine doctors and extremity specialists.  

In my opinion, the most important component to building interdisciplinary referral relationships is to target and reach out to other practitioners that are in-line with your practice style.  Just as there are all types of chiropractors, their are all types of MD's, DO's, PA's, OB's, etc.  Finding your tribe, and the group of local practitioners you resonate with may take some time, but your practice and your friends and neighbors will benefit as you build those relationships.

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

Maintenance Adjustments for Prevention Recommended by SPINE Journal- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

A potentially earth-shattering study relating to the practice of chiropractic was released last year and you may not have heard about it...until now. SPINE Journal emphatically stated that maintenance (at a frequency of 2x month) adjustments to the lumbar spine may prevent future episodes of lumbar spine pain.   

Pain (VAS Score) and disability (Oswestry) scores were significantly reduced with the group receiving maintenance treatment.  In their own words,  "we suggest that maintained SM is beneficial to patients with chronic nonspecific LBP, particularly those who gain improvement after initial intensive manipulation to maintain the improved post-treatment pain and disability levels."

When powerful research such as this is produced for prescription medications, the pharm reps are banging down the door of every medical practitioner in the country.  However, aside from our promotion at The Evidence Based Chiropractor, I have not seen a single chiropractic organization mount a campaign which promotes this research to other medical providers.   

As chiropractors, we have an abundance of high-quality research which needs to be promoted and not left dormant!  This library of research will continue to build and it will be our task to make sure that others are aware of the value of our care.  

We have assisted hundreds of chiropractors (just like you) around the globe build referral relationships with other physicians.  Dr. Langmaid literally wrote the book on interdisciplinary referrals ("Marketing Chiropractic to Medical Doctors" is available worldwide on iBooks).  We are the unrivaled leaders in interdisciplinary outreach and marketing for a reason. 

Join us by the end of the month to receive zip code exclusivity and a FREE 30 minute implementation call!

The study- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21245790

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the leading DC/MD marketing and outreach group in the world.  Our 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.

Commitment and Consistency: The Heart of MD Referrals by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Commitment and consistency are two of the most important aspects of interdisciplinary outreach.  In Robert Cialdini's book, "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", he outlines these factors as part of a 6 step system to influence.  Additionally, he touches on building Authority.  At The Evidence Based Chiropractor, we believe these factors play a crucial role in developing referral relationships.  Commitment and consistency with your monthly outreach (case notes and our Monthly MD Research Brief's) establish a continuity of outreach and drive the establishment of your local Authority on conservative spine care.   Case notes alone provide some degree of social proof, but monthly outreach with research is a key aspect to establishing authority as the local expert.  

By reaching out with commitment and consistency and positioning yourself as the local authority on conservative spine care, physicians will be much more likely to establish referral relationships with your office.  You may choose to accelerate this process by setting up some MD Meetings and building rapport through personal interaction.  Regardless of the path your choose, reaching out to other physicians in your community through research is the first step towards building long lasting referral relationships. 

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the leading DC/MD marketing and outreach group in the world.  Our 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.

The Importance of Sending Case Notes- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

On nearly every implementation call for members of The Evidence Based Chiropractor I receive questions about case notes.  Doc's are concerned about the how, what, when, and where about sending them to other physicians.  

Download a FREE Case Notes Template!

Often, they have been reluctant to do so because they don't want to send something amateurish or incorrect.  (Top priority is always to be in compliance with HIPAA and government law regarding sharing protected health information)

Research shows us that Primary Care Physicians received case notes approximately 70% of time when referred a patient to another MD.  PCP's only receive case notes 50% of the time when a patient is referred to a chiropractor.  

By sending case notes you are able to:

1. Show off the results of your care

2. Show that you are co-managing with the Primary Care Doctor

3. Get an additional touch point of communication for branding/name recognition  

We recommend our members send case notes at 3 different times- Initial Evaluation, Re-Evaluation, and Discharge from Active Care.  Often these notes can be process and faxed directly from your EMR/EHR.

Your Case Notes should include:

• Who- who is the patient? (patient name, DOB)

• When- when did they visit your office? (date of service)

• What- what did you find? (diagnosis)

• How- how are you going to move forward?  (treatment plan)

As you can imagine, these items will usually take up less than a full page.  If a doc requests additional information, then you can by all means supply it; however, a vast majority of physicians prefer just the basics as they will look at this page in the patients record prior to entering their exam room.  

By supplying case notes you are increasing communication and "touches" with PCP's in your community, they can see the progress of your shared patients, and you are assisting your patients with keeping an accurate health record.

If you would like more information regarding case notes I recommend reading my book, "Marketing Chiropractic to Medical Doctors" which is now available worldwide on iBooks and Amazon. 

Download a FREE Case Notes Template!

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-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the leading DC/MD marketing and outreach group in the world.  Our 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.