AEP Letter Template VEMP Letter Template AOD Letter Template

A comprehensive state coverage map will be posted soon. Members may also access the Academy’s State Medicaid contact list.

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The Code of Ethics of the American Academy of Audiology specifies professional standards that allow for the proper discharge of audiologists’ responsibilities to those served, and that protect the integrity of the profession. The Code of Ethics consists of two parts. The first part, the Statement of Principles and Rules, presents precepts that members (all categories of members, including Student Members) of the Academy agree to uphold. The second part, the Procedures, provides the process that enables enforcement of the Principles and Rules.

Click here for more information about professional ethics and how to make inquiries and complaints.

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By Brad Stewart

This article is a part of the September/October 2021, Volume 33, Number 5, Audiology Today issue.

How much time does your staff spend licking envelopes to hand-mail letters to your patients? How much energy and effort does your team put into managing patient follow-ups, recalls, end-of-warranty check-ups, and tested-not-treated (TNT) follow-ups? 

Are there gaps that exist in your patient follow-up systems that could be letting prospects and current patients slip out of your practice and into your competitors’ practices?

What if you could automate your database lifecycle marketing, using just the tools that are already included with many of today’s most popular office management systems (OMSs) and without putting in daily effort to manage your patient lifecycle marketing? 

Lifecycle marketing in our profession refers to ongoing marketing and messaging (mailers, newsletters, email updates, patient appreciation events, etc.) that a hearing-care practice conducts to keep its patients and prospects engaged with the practice and to keep the business top of mind.

This has been one of my biggest areas of focus as an audiology private-practice owner during the past seven years. That’s why I’m so pleased that several of the most popular OMSs now allow businesses, such as audiology private practices, to automate their most important patient interactions. 

What Is Marketing Automation?

You might or might not be familiar with the concept of marketing automation (FIGURE 1). Today’s technology allows businesses to create systems that will follow up with, nurture, and communicate to clients and prospects, without the need for business owners and managers to lift a finger.

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One opportunity to reach out to new potential patients can be through community hearing screening events advertised via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Partnering with a local medical practice if you are an independent provider can be a great way to offer a service and develop a referral resource. If you are a medical practice, this can be a great way to use surgical time blocks to build patients for the practice. Extern students and practice administrative assistants can help to make them even more successful.

During the event, utilize a manufacturer to set up an area for those who fail hearing screenings to ask questions about technology and options, and provide literature for you. Having this arrangement can allow patients to potentially listen to new technology and experience a limited exposure to all the options they have.  

Set up intake, screening, and listening stations for patients to keep the process running smoothly. Rotate companies and do these events quarterly and in different locations to maximize opportunities.

Patients who have been previously fit with technology and could benefit from learning about new technology should be invited to these events as well to allow them the opportunity to learn what technology has changed since they have been fit. From these discussions, hearing aid discussion appointments can be scheduled to retain existing patients who may need current technology.

Social media marketing is a free way to reach out to patients and create dialogue to generate new patients to the practice. Take advantage of these and create great and informational accounts for patients to follow.

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Each service we provide in a clinic should have a standard of care protocol and a test battery and service definition that we consistently follow that is backed up with literature. With this structure in place, clinicians can be confident when reviewing why they do what they do with patients, insurance companies, and other professionals. This need has never been more important than now, as our landscape is changing for services in the era of over-the-counter (OTC) legislation.

Kochkin et al (MarkeTrak, 2010) examined the relationship between satisfaction with hearing aids and the use of a pre-fitting clinical protocol. The authors evaluated various components of the fitting and pre-fitting protocol and concluded that the majority of clinicians failed to implement many of common sense “best practice” approaches. These items included such things as real ear, patient questionnaires, MCL and UCL measures, providing a positive office environment, and earmold/custom fitting options. Those practices that do not define a clear and consistent guideline for what they do are at greater risk for disruption by competitors and outside service options. 

Taking inventory of your practice services, provision, clearly defining them, and aligning them with the most current Academy guidelines is essential to good patient services. This should be reviewed regularly; update any forms, processes, or products that are utilized to ensure the most recent and appropriate technology and guidelines are in place. It is too easy for practices to get comfortable and used to the status quo of how things were always done. A healthy practice challenges why they do what they do and modify their approach to patient care accordingly.

Take stock of your office, the waiting room, the check-in, and check-out process, and the exam rooms, as if you were a patient and ask yourself is this the experience you would want a family member to have? Do you have appropriate literature? Is the office clean, neat, and welcoming? Is staff friendly and engaging? If the answer to any of those questions is no, then time to update and make changes. Challenge what you do and validate it. This will make a practice and clinician stronger and provide the care patients desire.

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• Meet face-to-face. It is important to personally deliver your service model to the physicians in your community. This helps establish rapport and instill confidence in your professionalism and expertise. Personally meeting physicians can help them gain trust in your ability to provide comprehensive hearing healthcare.
• Have a strong brand image and marketing practice. If you are able, work with a marketer to develop your brand image. Focus on the care you wish to provide and the expertise you possess. Utilize the various outlets of social media to build your brand presence. Including your web address and social media handles in your brochures will help physicians find you and your practice.
• Determine a communication schedule to build and maintain your relationship with physicians. Following your initial meeting with the physician, consider how frequently you wish to touch base. Occasional communication will help build and maintain this relationship. More frequent communication may be necessary initially. Your communication schedule should also include a formal way to thank and acknowledge the physician for referrals you receive.

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1. Free Hearing Screenings Thermometer: Create a large thermometer on a 2’x3’ foam board that reads, “Screen 1,000 Oklahoma adults for hearing loss.” Underneath the thermometer, it reads, “Help us to meet our goal by referring your friends for a free hearing screening! Ask the front office for more information.” Place paper versions in each office and business cards stating the screening goal for the year. Non-provider staff enjoy performing screenings, allowing them to feel more closely connected with patient care while not infringing on the audiologists seeing patients. It also encourages local businesses to reach out for screenings for their staff or at their health fairs.
2. Online Patient Reviews: Make a goal each week to ask five patients to leave reviews. Reward your team when they meet their goals. As an example, your audiologist could say, “Mr. XX, we’re trying to increase our awareness online so when people are searching for hearing help, they’re able to see a patient’s perspective. We’d really appreciate if you’d comment on our Google (or Facebook, Twitter, Bing, Yahoo, Hearing Tracker, etc.) page about your experience, so others can learn from it. Would you be willing to do that today?” Seeing a practice that has 40 reviews makes a difference in gaining trust for first-time viewers.
3. Facebook Black Friday: Advertising on Facebook can be very cost-effective. Try running low-cost ads targeted toward specific groups of people. A Black Friday promotional offer can bring people into your clinic as they’re scouring the internet for other online deals. As little as a few hundred dollars can be very effective and low risk.

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The thing that defines us as providers is our ability to provide quality patient experiences. Consider taking courses and providing staff and administrative support with training on concepts such as behavioral economics, emotional intelligence, and motivational interviewing to allow them to connect and truly elevate the patient experience beyond the basics. 

Regular training and a “grand rounds” approach to reviewing patient experiences as a group can help providers learn where they can improve or where they may have tools available they did not realize before.  Our relationships with our patients are a long-term commitment that we need to be able to acknowledge and understand. 

Identifying the underlying emotions for what motivates a patient is critical in their long-term success. Go back to the basics and walk through the patient’s shoes at each stop of their experience with your practice from the appointment setting to the points along the way where decisions are made. Ask yourself, is this the provider experience that I would want to have? 

How to Keep Our Patients Happy in a Changing Marketplace

In today’s changing landscape, it is important for patients to recognize our value as audiologists to their hearing health success. The challenge is making sure we show that value to every person who walks through our door.  Having a plan and following a protocol for each patient to streamline the process and enhance the patient experience can be something that easily sets your practice apart. Here are five ways to meet best practices and provide exceptional patient care.

1. Income measures: Start by getting an idea of where the patient feels they have difficulty and where they are in the process of accepting help. You can use a simple questionnaire like the HHIA/E or COAT.
2. Meaningful diagnostic tests: Complete a full diagnostic test battery with appropriate and helpful measures for each patient. A common battery may include otoscopy, DPOAEs, tympanometry, acoustic reflexes, air, and bone pure-tone thresholds, word recognition, and speech in noise.
3. Patient-Specific Recommendations and Treatment Plan: Based on the income measure and diagnostic testing results you will be able to recommend the best treatment plan for each patient. This may include hearing devices, accessories, and hearing assistive technology, as well as establishing specific patient goals.
4. Verify and Validate: Use real-ear verification on any hearing device fittings to ensure proper and optimal programming. Use outcome measures to validate that you have succeeded in meeting patient-specific goals and they see benefit and value in your treatment plan. You can use forms such as the COSI.
5. Post-Fitting Follow-Up and Auditory Rehabilitation: Make sure to set up a plan for post-fitting follow-up care and counsel the patient on AR services or plans. Develop a schedule for return visits throughout the year, such as annual hearing checks and programming. Offer group classes, individual appointments, or external resources for patients to complete additional AR in order to be successful hearing device users.

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One way to support patients is to routinely develop positive and encouraging social media posts featuring your patients. For those who engage in TED talks, watch this 15-minute video on “The Hidden Influence of Social Networks.”

As Dr. Nicholas Christakis stated “social networks are required for the spread of good and valuable things, like love and kindness and happiness and altruism and ideas. I think, in fact, that if we realized how valuable social networks are, we’d spend a lot more time nourishing them and sustaining them, because I think social networks are fundamentally related to goodness.”

Some ideas for patient engagement could be to record a short video or take a picture of your patients. Of course, ask for permission to post on your social media platforms. The posts should include the success stories of patients, such as how hearing devices have improved their quality of life, their favorite new activity (going to restaurants, the movies, being able to engage in large family dinners, etc.), and how long your patient has been using hearing devices. Tag the patient into the post which will then spread to their friends or connections. Hearing loss awareness and hearing aid success will spread through your patients to the large social networks and your community.

Conclusion

Be sure to check out Utilizing Social Media in 2018 and Enhancing Your Social Media Plan, Responding to Positive and Negative Comments on Social Media for more tips in Social Media Development.

Resource

Christakis N. (2010) The hidden influence of social networks. TED Talk.

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