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Archive for June, 2010

Running and marketing a Physical Therapy Practice needs some careful thought and consideration. First you want to begin with the end in mind. Start with a clear vision of how you want your life and ideal practice to look and feel before you take action on marketing or get clients into your physical therapy practice. This may save you time, energy, heart ache and a lot of cash in the long run.

Instead of just trying to get a full practice of clients, some of which may be energy zapping clients, decide who it is you want to work with, (the common characteristics or profile of your ideal client). In addition, how you can offer your services in unique ways to differentiate yourself in your community and stand out as the obvious ‘go to’ expert.

When you are marketing as a physical therapist you need to keep your vision in mind; why you do what you do and how you can help add value to clients’ lives. You want to use words that clients get, leave the jargon and marketing material that is all about ‘you’ on your desk. Get to know what your potential clients want and then tell what is in it for them if they decide to hire you. Explain all the benefits of hiring you as their physical therapist.

The next step is to create an effective step-by-step, easy to follow marketing plan that feels authentic to implement. This can help you to run a vibrant practice what ever stage you are in your practice building. Many physical therapist practice owners never use a marketing plan and don’t know what strategy to use to get more new clients because they do not think of the ‘bigger picture’.

You will not need me to tell you that the high of getting clients, is the one thing that tells you the pain and sacrifice is all worth while. The added bonus is when you get more clients, you can pay the bills and have peace of mind whilst you make your difference in the world, helping others feel better.

This approach of putting your client’s needs a head of your own is all well and good and that’s what most physical therapists are happy doing. But what about the times when you do not get more new clients, what happens then? If you don’t work you don’t get paid! So using a new strategy and beginning with working out therapy marketing strategy that suits you, so you know where your next client is coming from is a wise move.

You have to take a step back; you want to look at your practice from an objective short-term and long-term perspective (the bigger picture).

So how does a therapy marketing strategy differ from traditional pushy, salesy marketing approaches and how would a physical therapist put it in to practice to create say, one marketing strategy that can change the way they get more new clients?

A therapy marketing strategy can be used for any physical therapy practice and used over and over for the life time of your practice building. To often are there people out there giving you ‘quick fix’ solutions and never have walked similar shoes and have no idea what it takes a service based business owner to get more new clients.

It is a common challenge that many physical therapy practice owners face and marketing holds a large percent of therapist back from doing more of the work they love and reaching out to get more new clients.

Physical Therapy Marketing does not have to be so hard, or so much of a struggle. Have you ever heard the saying it is easy once you know how? I am sure you have had experiences that at the time seemed impossible to grasp, like when you first learnt to ride a bike or drive a car. You actually believe you will just never get the hang of it, or you just about get ready to quit and then, suddenly something just clicks!

A Therapy Marketing Strategy is just like that. You may not have known what the best marketing strategy is for your physical therapy practice but today you can take action on one marketing strategy. Ask for 2 referrals from 10 people in your immediate network. It does not cost anything and you are more likely to generate business through recommendations, that on say advertising. It’s authentic and you can do it right now, get on the phone, write a letter, ask a past client for a referral. Make this part of what you do naturally as a rule of thumb.

If you want more help and support with how to create a customised therapy marketing plan using strategies that suit service based business owners and tailoring it to suit the stage of practice building you are now, get in touch. You can do it with the support of a group of ‘like minded’ others in our new Teleclass and action group, we can give you new ideas, insights and act a source of motivation as you build your ideal physical therapy practice.

There is an abundance of health and beauty items available online and in stores to meet your every need. Finding quality products at an affordable price is the key to fulfilling your personal expectations. You will want the best dental care and shaving equipment to look and feel your best. Massage tables and chairs are available to professionals and householders as well for deep relaxation. Vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements keep you healthy, while medicine relief is available for your minor ailments. You can find what you want, at your convenience.

Dental care products are important to maintain healthy teeth and gums. Sonic toothbrushes work well to clean your teeth and massage your gums. You should be able to find the original sets, plus all the replacement parts you will ever need. Toothbrush sanitizers help you to keep a germ free mouth. Look for them wherever you find dental care equipment. Dental care is for both your health and beauty.

Shaving is a beauty step that people do to look neat and stylish. Trimmers are popular now, with all the interesting shapes of small beards that men wear these days. Shavers have always been useful and much more comfortable to use than regular razor blades. In fact, people with some medical problems are cautioned to only use electric shavers because of the reduced risk of excessive bleeding. You should be able to find a variety of shaving equipment that will give you your idea of a perfect shave.

Pills and ointments are available for many health issues that you might have. One advantage of buying medicines like allergy relief, pain and fever medication, digestive relievers, and topical creams and ointments is that you can buy them in large quantities. What is more, the price is generally less than the price in a store. Vitamins and other supplements can be bought in value sizes as well. These health remedies are all available online.

Health and beauty experts agree that massage is good for the body as well as the appearance. It keeps you feeling good, making your skin glow and your eyes sparkle with renewed vitality. You can buy massage equipment at your convenience, with detailed descriptions of the products and reasonable shipping rates.

It is not wise to ignore your health; and beauty follows along with good health. Look for the products you need to make yourself more comfortable and attractive. You will find that they are as convenient to buy as clicking a mouse.

How do we fill the holes in our schedule? Many of our clients have expressed concerns about the inconsistencies of their patient schedules. While there are many challenges that practices face in this uncertain economy, there is a potential resource of revenue that is often untapped in practices.

Who is over due?

When was the last time you audited your charts and reviewed the key computer reports, including the past due recall report, the missed appointments report, and the unscheduled treatment report? If you are not familiar with these reports, you should be. The information will put you in the position of being proactive rather than reactive to the ups and downs of your patient base. Start by making the most of the information that is right at your fingertips.

How many are leaving?

Many doctors focus a great deal of energy on new patients counts. How many times are you at a meeting and you hear a doctor talking about the 40 to 50 new patients a month they are getting from the latest marketing program that they paid big dollars for? The question you can ask “How many patients leave your practice each month?” Not many doctors will be able to tell you with any certainty.

You can determine your patient loss by reviewing your recall program over the last year. First, generate a report of patients due for recall without appointments for the last twelve months. If the total number of patients on the report is 500, divide that by twelve. In this example, the potential patient loss per month in the last year would be just over 40. If your new patient numbers are less than the loss, obviously the patient base is shrinking. Now what?

Make a personal call

The first step would be to assign a member of your business staff to contact all past due recall patients as well as those with incomplete treatment. Assign a specific goal for the number of calls to be made each week. Many times just a friendly reminder will work to get the patient to make an appointment.

Send a follow up letter

The next step would be to send a direct mail letter to every adult in your active and inactive files who is overdue or has a substantial incomplete treatment plan. The patient’s account should also be in good standing. Be sure to include something about the importance of ongoing professional dental care and giving patients beautiful smiles.

Be sure the calls and letters promote the benefits, not the treatment. Consumers seek out those who can fulfill a need. Because a need is built on desire, what we desire we convince ourselves we need. Focus on the emotional aspects such as a whiter smile or chewing without pain.

Small investment, big payoff

Many studies have been done that show it is easier to keep a current patient or a customer than it is to attract a new one. Do not overlook the people who already know your practice who can be brought back with a small investment of time and personal attention.

Steroid therapy is the use of steroid medications, also known as corticosteroids, to treat many types of autoimmune disease, including myasthenia gravis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis, and other disorders, such as asthma. Steroid medications include medications like prednisone and cortisone. Corticosteroids can be prescribed to be taken orally or in other ways, such as by inhalation.

According to Western medicine, steroid medications are medically necessary to treat many conditions and diseases. It is important not only to follow the recommendations of your medical professional regarding steroid use, if you have decided steroid therapy is right for you, but also to explore other medical options if you have second thoughts about steroid medications.

Is steroid therapy right for you?

Steroid medications have major effects on the metabolism of calcium and bone. Steroid therapy can result in severe bone loss, osteoporosis, and broken bones. High dosage of steroid medications can cause rapid bone loss, up to as much as 15 percent per year. If you are on steroids, you are more than twice as likely to have a spine fracture as compared to a person not taking steroids. Fracture risk increases as the daily doses of steroid medications increases. The major impact of steroid medication on bone is fractures (broken bones) that occur most commonly in the spine and ribs. There are different rates of bone loss among individuals on corticosteroids. Bone loss occurs most rapidly in the first six months after starting oral steroid medications. After 12 months of chronic steroid use, there is a slower loss of bone. However, not all patients who take steroid medications experience bone loss.

Other adverse side effects of steroid medications are elevation of blood pressure, weight gain, decreased resistance to infection, indigestion, thinning of skin, and potential development of cataracts and glaucoma.

Let me relate my own experience with steroid therapy.

I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis several years ago. Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body. The hallmark of the disease is muscle weakness, which increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Certain muscles, such as those that control eyes and eyelid movements, facial expression, talking, chewing and swallowing are often involved in this disorder. In addition, the muscles that control breathing, neck, and limb movements may also be affected.

Due to myasthenia gravis, I had developed ocular symptoms, such as ptosis (drooping of eyelids) and diplopia (double vision), and weak neck and limb muscles. Fortunately, I did not have weakness of the pharynx muscles, which could cause difficulty in chewing and swallowing, as well as slurred speech in many cases of myasthenia gravis.

I was prescribed steroid medications and had been on a steroid therapy for three years. In addition, I was also given medications to deal with bone loss and other side adverse effects associated with the use of steroids.

In my case, there was some improvement, but not significant enough to make me decide to continue the steroid therapy after three years of treatment. I had to balance the risks of steroids and the symptoms of myasthenia gravis.

My rude awakening came when I realized that my immune system, which was the cause of the disease in the first place, is not only an integrated network of cells that would protect me in times of an infection, but also a system with many regulatory mechanisms that, if uncontrolled, would become my enemy instead of my friend. More importantly, these steroids may control the symptoms of myasthenia gravis, but they may also impair my immune system with lasting effects on my overall health and wellness further down the road.

I recognized that the human body has a natural mechanism for self-healing, if given the appropriate environment. Accordingly, I took matters into my hands, and made a drastic decision to stop my steroid therapy without consulting my physician (Warning: I do not ask anyone to do the same.) I stopped the medication very slowly and gradually. Meanwhile, I did everything to improve my immune system through a thorough detoxification program, and a change of diet. I did not gain weight, my blood pressure became normal and, most important of all, my myasthenia gravis conditions did not deteriorate. Up to this day, I still have some double vision, which I have learned to cope with (I can still drive), but my other symptoms have disappeared. I have been off steroid therapy for several years already.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, once said: “No man is a better physician than himself, who knows his own constitution.” No one can decide for you what is best for your health. A doctor can only give advice, but you are the one who makes the decision on whether steroid therapy is right for you.

Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau

Lazy eye or in medical term is called amblyopia cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Improvements in vision can be achieved at any age, but lazy eye correction after the age of 17 requires more effort including vision therapy. And if it is not detected and treated early age, amblyopia may cause loss of vision and depth perception. Do have your vision and child’s vision examined if symptoms appear because early detection and treatment gives the best outcomes.

Amblyopia is a neurologically active process. In other words, the process of loss of vision begins in the brain. If one eye sees clearly and the other sees a blur, the brain can create blur vision. The brain can also suppress one eye to avoid double vision. The inhibition process (suppression) can result in a permanent decrease in the vision that can not be corrected with glasses, lenses, or lasik surgery. This problem may be inherited but at very young age it is not always easily recognized. A young child cannot be aware that one of his or her eyes is blurred and many parents do not notice that their children have amblyopic eye until they get older. Therefore, examination and lazy eye correction at early age is important. The best treatment is under 4 years old.

Every amblyopic patient deserves an attempt at treatment and the treatment involves glasses, drops, vision therapy and patching / or patching.

1) Patching

Eye specialist usually treat lazy eye with the use of eye patching. It helps to stimulate the brain to use both eyes together. Eye patching has been known as an effective lazy eye correction. The patient has to wear the eye patch on the amblyopic eye for a certain period. They may wear them for 2 to 3 hours a day during 3 months to a year. While wearing them the patients have to follow some eye exercises. In this way the weak eye is being forced to work.

2) Patching with Surgery

Many eye doctors suggest their patients with eye surgery. The surgery involves cutting and stretching eye muscles to fix the eye. Unfortunately this treatment does not correct the habits of the brain to work both of the eyes together and this still cause misalignment of the weak eye.

3) Vision therapy

Lazy eye correction through eye exercise and other therapy is highly successful in treating amblyopic eye. This therapy includes exercise and training methods of eye-brain connection in creating the vision. Clinical and research developments in vision therapy are linked with the developments of neuroscience. The therapy may include through fun activities like crossword puzzles, special video games or other word games which can be found in magazines or books. After the vision of the lazy eye has been restored, the patient has to wear the patch for some time until the entire visual system and changes reflexes achieve a lasting cure.

One of the most important vitamins that your body can receive is the B vitamin complex. It is called a complex because there are actually 9 different B vitamins.

They range from B1 – B7 and also B9 and B12. As you will see, most of your bodies systems need some form of B vitamin to function. Any easy way to remember the importance of these vitamins is to consider their importance in you body, brain and blood. So, rather than looking at the B vitamins in order, lets look at the systems they are critical for.

Brain

The B1 Vitamin is also known as Thiamine. Thiamine helps to ensure that all your bodies’ cells are functioning properly. It is extremely important for your memory and mental health functions, and also helps convert your food into energy.

Pyridoxine, vitamin B6, is the B vitamin responsible for redistributing amino acids. It actually creates over 5000 proteins needed by the body and also helps build various enzymes. It is also critical in the production of neurotransmitters in the brain. Strict vegans or vegetarians will need a supplement of Pyridoxine because it is supplied by meat and poultry products. In addition pregnant or breastfeeding woman may want to add a supplement to their diet.

Best known as a supplement for pregnancy, vitamin B9 is also known as folic acid. It is known for improving mood and quality of sleep as well as controlling appetite. Folic acid helps to keep the arteries open, and can help prevent heart attack or stroke.

Blood

Vitamin B2 is called Riboflavin. It also helps convert food into energy, but it is especially important for keeping red blood cells healthy.

Cobalamin or vitamin B12 helps to form a protective barrier around your nerve cells and keeps your read blood cells healthy. It can help to prevent heart disease. While this nutrient is critical, your body actually requires a very small amount of it, making deficiency extremely rare. Provided you eat a wide variety of foods. Fussy eaters, children and strict vegans may need to take a supplement.

Body

Niacin is the common name for vitamin B3. This nutrient is critical for detoxifying chemicals to making hormones. It is also involved in over 50 other processes that your body needs to function correctly.

B5, or Pantothenic acids function is to assist other B Vitamins in doing their jobs. It helps to break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates in order to convert them into energy. It is required in the formation of hormones, vitamin D and red blood cells. Panthothenic acid is actually one of the most common vitamins found in most foods, so it is almost impossible for you to not get enough of this vitamin.

B7 is also known as Biotin. It is another B vitamin that is critical for giving the body energy, by breaking down fat, proteins and carbohydrates.

As you can see, the B complex, which includes 9 different vitamins is critical for your brain, blood and body. Many foods supply these vitamins, but depending on your lifestyle, diet and stage of life, getting a supplement could be important.

Talk to your doctor or dietician to see whether or not a vitamin B complex or any particular vitamin B could be valuable to you.

With today’s lifestyle, it is important to work especially hard at getting a balanced diet. B Vitamins are one of the most important nutrients your body needs.