How to have an integrative healthcare practice from a distance

Photo Cred: picjumbo.com/Pexels

By Melissa Carr, BSc, DrTCM

For many of us in the natural health field, we are having to greatly limit how we practice. In British Columbia, Canada, we are all being asked to “stay home.” Because we cannot maintain social distancing when performing acupuncture, tui na, cupping, or other manual work, my Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) colleagues and I have had to cancel all patient in-clinic appointments.

As a healthcare worker, this is extremely difficult when we know that our patients have relied on us to help keep them healthy. The conventional medical system in many areas of the world is overwhelmed with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, and many other areas are restricting access to non-essential health services, rescheduling or canceling diagnostics and patient visits that are not urgent, as they continue to cope and prepare for an increase in urgent care needs.

In the meantime, our patients’ health issues have not gone away. In some cases, they have gotten worse. Without their regular care, their pain is more aggravated, their anxiety and depression and other mental health issues have escalated, and they are struggling to manage their chronic health conditions.

So, what can we do as healthcare professionals wanting to treat our patients from afar? These are some tactics I’ve found helpful.

Offer without expectation

I’ve had several conversations with colleagues about what each of us is doing to try to help our patients while also making some money to pay our bills. Many of our financial responsibilities are not disappearing and it is scary to see those mounting when we are basically out of work. But many of our patients are in the same situation.

Find ways to offer free health tips, guidance, and support. Most of us in the health field are here because we want to be helpful and of service. For me, one of the hardest things about not being allowed in clinic is that I’ve felt both useless and guilty about not being able to help more. So, providing information and support without expectation of anything in return has helped reduce those anxieties.

Use the free tools readily available

Videos

I hadn’t put up a YouTube video for ages because I hadn’t felt the need or had the time. But instructional videos offer us an opportunity to reach out to many people and share our knowledge.

I’ve started putting up free how-to videos of simple things viewers can do to treat some basic health issues. Acupressure, self-massage, exercises, dietary advice, lifestyle recommendations, breathwork, and meditation are just some of the things people can do at home, without any tools or special skills.

I know there are a lot of how-to videos out there but send your videos to your patients. They know you. They trust you. And, by staying in touch with them now, they will feel supported and remember to seek you out when they need future guidance.

Blogs

Write blogs for your website now. Again, it’s free information for your patients, but you can use these blogs in your practice.

Do you ever find yourself repeating the same information, sending the same documents of instruction, or demonstrating the same exercise or skill when you’re in clinic? Well, if you put it on your website now, you can simply send the link to your patients. Not only will they appreciate having this information when they need it, but they may share the information with their friends and family to entice them to come see you later on.

If the information you’re creating is not something you want generally available to the public, you can easily make it password-protected on several online content management systems.

Newsletters

If you haven’t been sending regular e-newsletters to your patients, now is the time to start. Of course, you’ll need to make sure that you ask for permission to sign them up, but many of us have a question of permission to contact via our intake and consent forms when patients first come to see us.

I use an online e-mail marketing platform, and there are several to choose from depending on your needs and preferences. You know your patients, so choose the style, length, and frequency of sending based on that. In terms of content, ask yourself, what would they be happy to find in their inbox? We’re all bombarded with emails, so make sure that what you offer in your e-newsletter is something they’ll look forward to receiving. You are unlikely to please everyone, of course, but aim for most.

I focus on health tips, recipes, my responses to health issues in the news, and instructional information, though I’ll also announce new offerings and clinic news.

Don’t be afraid to accept

I’m currently offering distance consultations via online video chats, and for that there is a fee. I’ve reduced my fee by half of what I would have charged for a face-to-face visit, and that’s certainly not right for everyone. I’ve done that because some of my patients will not have their consultations covered by their current insurance providers.

On the other hand, I tend to answer email and phone call questions for free, regardless of the amount of time and effort I’ve put into it. So, I’m learning how to say when something requires a paid consultation, and I recommend you do too.

Create some general health tool kits

Depending on your profession, location, and regulatory restrictions, you might be able to create some general health tools kits that you can mail out to patients. So far, I’ve created four kits covering the topics of pain, stress, allergies, and immune health.

Though these categories of health are very broad, I’m mailing out press needles, ear seeds, cupping kits, and basic instructions for maintaining health for each of these health issues. This makes the kits affordable and helps my patients maintain some of the gains that I fear they’ll lose over months without hands-on treatment. In addition, if I do a consultation online, I can customize the kits for those when needed. Note that some distributors may now be willing to drop ship directly to the patient, meaning you don’t need to maintain an inventory.

Build for your future

When we can return to our practice, many of us will expect to have a slow rebuild. It may take months for our practices to return to the income we had prior to COVID-19. I want to hit the ground running when the time comes, so while I may not be busy seeing many patients, I’m certainly not sitting idle. In fact, in some ways, I’m busier. I look at what we do now as planting seeds for our futures.