Laser Therapy Blog

Open houses aren’t just for prospective home buyers – they can be for prospective patients too! People like to try before they buy, and hosting an open house at your practice is a great way to introduce yourself and your services to interested patients.

To make the most out of this marketing opportunity, follow these 7 steps for success:

1. Determine your goal

Before committing to any marketing endeavor it is very important to establish a goal. There may be several reasons for hosting an open house, so you need to decide which one best matches your current situation.

The overall goal of an open house for most practitioners is to expand their patient base, but it is also important to pay attention to secondary, more immediate goals, as they will help you develop and refine your messaging.

For instance, if you are opening a new practice, you may want to host an open house to introduce yourself to the community. On the other hand, if you have an established practice and a new technology, like a therapy laser, you might host an open house with the goal of generating interest in your new product. The long-term goal of both events would be to attract more patients, but the short-term goals of practice and product awareness are different and will therefore be marketed differently.

Here are some short-term goals to consider that will encourage growth of your patient base:

• Increasing practice awareness
• Introducing a new product
• Introducing a new service
• Introducing a new staff member
• Showcasing a new facility
• Building  a community relationship

Whatever your reason for hosting an open house, make sure you are clear what results you expect so you can both market effectively and measure your success following the event.

2. Define your target

Another crucial step in hosting a successful open house is deciding whom you want to invite.  You should choose your target audience to match your goal.

If you are hosting an open house to highlight a new product or service, like laser therapy, invite people who are good candidates for the service or are likely to purchase the product. If your goal is to grow your practice in general, you should consider targeting a unique subset, because having a smaller target audience will help you to better define your messaging.

To determine which groups to target, look at what you are trying to treat. For a clinician that offers laser therapy, for example, pain relief and inflammation reduction are going to be key factors. Here are some examples of niche demographic groups such practitioners should consider targeting:

• Athletes
• Post-surgical patients
• Migraine patients
• Fibromyalgia patients
• Post-herpetic neuralgia patients

You should also invite some of your best patients – the ones that rave about you and tell everyone they know. They can help drum up excitement and attendance before the event, and your guests will appreciate the opportunity to speak with them during the event.

3. Plan your event

Now that you know why you’re having an open house and who you’re inviting, you need to plan your event.

Having demonstrations of services and samples of products is great interactive way to show people what you have to offer. Depending on the service or product, you can either demonstrate on a willing staff member, or on guests themselves.

If you’re hosting a niche group, come up with some useful information to offer them. For example, if you’re inviting athletes, consider giving a presentation on a relevant topic involving a product or service you offer. If you offer laser therapy, a talk on “5 Ways Laser Therapy Can Help Keep You In the Game” would be both informative and useful for attendees.

Here are some additional event extras to consider:

• Food and drink
• A special speaker (ie. a local politician or celebrity)
• A raffle or prize
• Coupons for future purchases

Stay tuned for Steps 4-7! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to be alerted when they’re available.

 
Laser therapy is a powerful tool that can deliver incredible results. As with any modality, the best outcomes are achieved when treatment is applied in the correct circumstances and administered with appropriate technique. Below are 3 tips to help you deliver the right dose, for every condition and every patient, every time.

1.     Evaluate the Situation

Before beginning laser therapy, take time to look at relevant condition-related variables and consider whether you want to integrate laser therapy as part of the treatment course.

One variable you need to consider is how receptive the condition will be to laser therapy. Conditions that exhibit inflammation are likely to respond well, so most “itis” conditions are good candidates. You should also look at using laser therapy in circumstances where pain reduction is a primary objective. Since most inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, epicondylitis, and plantar fasciitis are painful, laser therapy can often be used to accomplish both pain and inflammation reduction simultaneously.

Acuteness of the condition should also be looked at. If a condition is chronic, treatments should be modified to maximize outcomes. A good rule of thumb when addressing chronic conditions is to start treating with reduced power and slowly increase the power as treatments continue, depending on patient progress and feedback.

2. Educate the Patient

Setting expectations is an important part of any treatment plan and will help increase overall satisfaction. Patients generally want to know not only what laser therapy is, but also what treatments are like, how many treatments will possibly be needed, and what level of results they should expect.

Make it a priority to educate patients about laser therapy, both before and during treatment. Patients should be able to start learning about laser therapy before they even schedule an appointment. Having a page on your website dedicated to laser therapy, with videos, FAQs, and testimonials shows patients you are committed to providing them with the best treatment options and are confident in the therapy.

Laser therapy education should continue once patients are in the office, so you will want to equip your staff and space with relevant information. Some patients will want to know details about how it works, while others will only want to know whether it works – so make sure the staff is enabled to provide answers, either directly or through external resources like blogs and videos. You should also put up posters and banners, and have brochures at the front desk for patients to read while they are waiting for their appointment – enable your patients to educate themselves.

Once patients know what laser therapy is and what it can be used to treat, they then want to know what treatments are like. When consulting with patients who have opted to begin laser therapy treatments, let the patient know that they can expect to feel a gentle warmth as the laser is being applied. You can also tell them approximately how long the treatments last, which is dependent on the condition but typically within the range of 5-10 minutes.

Finally, it is critical to set expectations related to results. Patients with acute conditions will often respond better and quicker than patients with chronic conditions, so certain chronic conditions may require more treatments and may not resolve as fully as acute conditions. As long as this expectation is set clearly and early, patients are usually very happy with their results.

3. Take Time to Treat Properly

It doesn’t matter how well a treatment plan is developed if it isn’t executed well. As with many modalities, laser therapy works best when certain treatment technique guidelines are followed and proper dosages are delivered.

One important technique consideration is the application of laser therapy directly to the skin’s surface – not through clothing or bandages. Fabric both absorbs and reflects a great deal of light, reducing the amount of energy able to reach the target and therefore inhibiting delivery of a full dose (see a video demonstration here). To further increase the amount of light reaching the target, the handpiece should also be held perpendicularly to the skin’s surface, to help minimize scattering and reflection of light off the skin.

Optimal outcomes are achieved by fully saturating the area being treated with laser light. The handpiece should be moved in a painting motion and applied in a grid-like pattern, so that the desired area is completely and evenly covered. If treating an extremity, it is also advisable to move the handpiece around the limb 360 degrees to reach all available angles. Laser therapy dosing is measured in joules/cm², so coverage area is an important factor. (For illustrations of these treatment tips, download this infographic).

Treatments should also be delivered on contact, unless there is a clear reason to not do so. During on-contact treatment, less light is scattered, and the pressure from the massage ball attachment helps to displace superficial fluids, allowing more energy to reach the target and enabling more accurate dosing. Using active range of motion further encourages proper dose delivery to deep target structures.

By following these 3 tips, you can ensure your patients are getting the most out of their laser therapy treatments, each and every time!

Want to learn more about maximizing results through delivery technique? Check out this on-demand webinar.

Clinicians are using laser therapy more often than ever before to help reduce pain and inflammation related to many common conditions.

Thousands of doctors and patients have experienced the power of laser therapy and are familiar with its therapeutic effects, but for those who aren’t, here are 5 things everyone should know about it:

1. It reduces pain and inflammation without side effects

Laser therapy uses a process called photobiomodulation. Photons enter the tissue and interact with the cytochrome c complex within mitochondria. This interaction triggers a biological cascade of events that leads to an increase in cellular metabolism and a decrease in both pain and inflammation. Unlike medications, laser therapy reduces pain without undesirable side effects.

It is also important to point out that patients report long-lasting pain relief. While the number of treatments required may vary depending on the acuity of the condition, many patients experience lasting relief after only a couple treatments.

2. Can be used for acute and chronic conditions

When treating acute conditions with laser therapy, it is particularly effective when it is administered as soon as possible following injury (assuming there is no active hemorrhaging). The faster the inflammation is reduced and the healing process can begin, the better. In the case of acute injury, laser therapy helps restore the body to normal function quicker.

With chronic conditions, laser therapy is used most often to help combat persistent pain and inflammation. The new LightForce EXP 25-watt laser is being used by clinicians to quickly reduce inflammation in patients suffering from chronic pain. This therapy laser is especially well-suited for treating chronic conditions because it enables clinicians to treat a wider area of interest while still delivering therapeutically relevant dosages.

3. Treatments can be customized for each situation

Lasers that have larger power ranges offer versatile treatment options. A laser that can be set to operate from 0.5 W all the way up to 25 W, allows the clinician flexibility to treat low and slow or at maximum output.

The availability of multiple treatment heads offers additional flexibility for the clinician. The LightForce Empower™ Delivery System, for example, features 5 different treatment heads, each designed to facilitate optimal delivery in different scenarios. It is important to have several delivery options to ensure the delivery method is appropriately matched to the situation. For instance, when treating over bony prominences, an off-contact treatment method is advisable. However, when treating deep-tissue structures, such as a hamstring, an on-contact massage ball attachment is best to reduce reflection and scattering, and also encourage deeper penetration by displacing excess fluids. Different sized treatment heads can also be advantageous for administering treatments that require varying levels of precision.

Advanced software is another tool that helps with treatment customization. Influence Technology™ allows clinicians to build custom treatments by selecting body region, condition, and specific patient characteristics. Touchscreens and intuitive selection processes make delivering the right dose easy. For even more customization, clinicians can also formulate their own protocols by entering a couple key components with LightForce’s newest software feature, Perfect Protocol™.

4. Treatments Feel Good

One common question related to laser therapy is, “What does it feel like?” Depending on the laser, it can create little to no sensation or it can create a gentle, soothing warmth. Many patients receiving LightForce Laser Therapy treatments report enjoying the experience, especially when a massage-ball treatment head is used to deliver what is often referred to as a “laser massage.”

Patients receiving treatments with higher-power lasers also frequently report a rapid decrease in pain. For someone suffering from chronic pain, this effect can be particularly pronounced.

5. Treatments Are Fast

With LightForce lasers, treatments are quick, usually 5-10 minutes depending on the size, depth, and acuteness of the condition being treated. High-power lasers are able to deliver a lot of energy in a small amount of time, so therapeutic dosages are achieved quickly. For people with packed schedules, patients and clinicians alike, fast and effective treatments are a must.

References

Hamblin MR, Demidova TN. “Mechanisms of low level light therapy.” Proc. of SPIE Photonics. 2006; 6140: 614001-01-12. doi: 10.1117/12.646294

Kingsley JD, Demchak T, Mathis R. “Low-level laser therapy as a treatment for chronic pain.” Frontiers in Physiology. 2014; 5(306): 1-3. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00306