NEWSLETTERS

Newsletters

A newsletter is an effective method of keeping in touch with your patients by providing them valuable advice and information periodically. In fact, the lack of follow-up care is the #1 complaint of hearing aid users. Many offices frame their follow-up program around their newsletter schedule.

Hearing HealthCare News For Patients

Hearing HealthCare News
For Patients

  • Who is the most important person in your practice?

    No, it’s not you.  It’s not your office manager.  It’s not even your referring physicians. The most important person in your practice is your patient.


    Patient satisfaction and patient loyalty are crucial to the success of any professional practice.  Unfortunately, about 10% of patients leave their health care practitioner every year because (1) they didn’t feel cared for, or (2) the practice didn’t stay in touch with them (Rockefeller Institute study). 


    The problem of patient loss may be even greater in our field.  According to MarketTrak III survey data, the provider service ranked lowest in satisfaction is lack of follow-up care.


    How expensive is it to replace that lost patient? Industry experts estimate it costs between $400 and $500 in marketing costs for each hearing aid patient.


    A patient newsletter connects you to the most important person in your practice four times a year at minimal cost and effort. A patient newsletter tells your patient that you care about them.  A patient newsletter eliminates any complaint about lack of follow-up care.  And it virtually guarantees you won’t lose patients because they didn’t feel cared for or that you didn’t stay in touch with them.

  • What can I expect when I send my patients a newsletter?

    Improved Patient Satisfaction

    A patient newsletter is concrete evidence of your commitment to provide the highest level of care.  It reinforces your provider-patient relationship even as you help your patient understand the challenge of noisy restaurants, how to maximize television enjoyment, travel tips, and the importance of regular hearing check-ups.


    Better Patient Retention

    Market research has shown that regular communication is crucial to maintaining patient familiarity and loyalty. Your patient newsletter is a regular reminder to your patients that you care about them.


    Increased Patient Activity

    Hearing HealthCare News has a 25-year record of increasing battery sales, periodic evaluation visits and hearing aid re-fittings.  Our subscribers tell us year after year: the newsletter doesn’t cost money—it makes money.


    Increased Patient Referrals

    The four keys to patient referrals are:

    1. High level of patient satisfaction
    2. Personal involvement with the practice
    3. Regular communication
    4. Being asked for the referral

    Building on these keys, our subscribers have successfully used Hearing HealthCare News as a foundation of their patient referral program.

  • Who should get our patient newsletter?

    We suggest mailing Hearing HealthCare News to your current patients and to prospective new patients (such as those seen for testing but not fitted and those who have called your office for information).  


    We also recommend sending copies to the health editor of your local newspaper, library, office of the aging and other groups interested in hearing health care  The purpose is to remind others that you are the local expert on hearing health care.  


    We also suggest sending copies to local physicians both to educate them about hearing health issues and to demonstrate the extra care you provide to their patients.

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Audiology HealthCare News For Physicians

Audiology HealthCare News
For Physicians

For Audiology HealthCare News, the physician newsletter, we suggest mailing to all your local family physicians, internists, pediatricians, oncologists, pharmacists, chiropractors, etc. You can build this mailing list from your local yellow pages, the list of network providers in any group health insurance plan in which you participate, and from the physician names your patients give you.
  • Where do your new patients come from?

    According to an American Academy of Audiology study, the family physician is the most important source of referrals of patients with hearing loss.  


    People with hearing loss ranked their primary care physician four times higher than newspaper advertising as their most important source of information about hearing loss. 


    Yet most audiology practices spend four times more on newspaper advertising than on marketing to physicians!

  • Is marketing to physicians worthwhile?

    Virtually every marketing expert in the hearing health care field stresses the need to market to physicians, who in many ways are the gatekeepers for hearing care.  


    Unfortunately, many physicians don’t understand the nature of hearing loss, the many negative effects of untreated hearing loss, and the effectiveness of today’s hearing aids. 

  • How does a physician newsletter work?

    Audiology HealthCare News is published four times a year.  Most articles are reviews of research published in journals such as Ear and Hearing, Annals of Internal Medicine, International Journal of Audiology and Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.  


    Using data supported by research, the newsletter reinforces three messages:

    • Hearing loss is serious
    • Hearing loss deserves professional care
    • Hearing aids work
  • Will physicians read my newsletter?

    According to the AAA Physician Focus Groups, physicians are interested in new technologies and treatments and find educational newsletters especially relevant.  An independent study published in Hearing Review by Meredy Hase, Au.D. measured a readership rate of 74% for Audiology HealthCare News.  


    That high readership rate is because the newsletter is designed to be a quick read and is filled with articles of interest to physicians, such as  Hypertension and Hearing Loss, Dementia and Untreated Hearing Loss, Promoting Good Communication in the Medical Setting and Preserving Cognitive Function Through the Use of Hearing Aids. 

  • Is Audiology HealthCare News a complete physician marketing program?

    If only it were that easy!  A customized periodic physician newsletter is most effective at developing and maintaining a professional relationship with physicians you already know.  It is not as effective at creating relationships, although that will happen.  


    But with a very high return on investment, you could send Audiology HealthCare News to 200 physicians for a year—and one hearing aid fitting would cover the entire cost!


    We will be happy to work with you with other suggestions for an effective physician marketing program.

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Suggestion: 
Consider sending your patients a "hearing aid fitting discharge" letter after the last hearing aid fitting visit. In that letter, you can thank them for choosing your office for services, and remind them about batteries, hearing aid care, and the importance of regular hearing healthcare check-ups. Also mention you will be sending them a patient newsletter, and give them the opportunity to "opt out" if they wish.

HIPAA Regulations and Newsletters

Some subscribers have asked about HIPAA regulations and use of a patient newsletter. The HIPAA regulations do not discourage communicating with patients.
"Marketing . . . At the same time, the (HIPAA) proposal would permit doctors and other covered entities to communicate freely with patients about treatment options and other health-related information, including disease-management programs."

Also, according to the Office of Civil Rights Guidelines released in December 2002, as summarized in the March/April 2003 issue of Audiology Today:
  • Audiologists are permitted to contact their patients with promotional offers, incentives and coupons;
  • Audiologists are allowed to contact their patients to communicate about products and services, but must allow their patient to "opt out" of these types of communications. (Note: Many subscribers use their newsletter to inform their patients about HIPAA requirements and to offer them the opportunity to "opt out" of office mailings.)
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