Dental Sleep Medicine Insider January 2015 | Page 14

BY DS3 SUPPORT SPECIALIST CINDY HERBERT DS3 Members ask and want to know: “How can we get more sleep patients?” It’s a common question we hear at Dental Sleep Solutions, and we spend a fair bit of our time brainstorming ideas to help you get more patients. The lowest hanging fruit is your existing patient base who walk through your doors every day. You are screening your patients with the DS3 screener, right? Beyond that, we recommend that you cultivate relationships withFrom OSA, LSAT, & AHI to RDI, local physicians. Office visits from a staff has an RERA, & OAT, DSM member who delivers business Two that dentistry acronym for it. cards, practice brochures, and even referral has become increasingly conforms are a great start. Even better if cerned with are HIPAA (Health the Doctor will follow up with a & AccountaInsurance Portability visit himself. I recommend and HITECHvisit bility Act) that you (Health two offices every single Technology for EcoInformation week. A year later, 100 local nomic and Clinical Health Act) physicians will at least know who you are. govern how patients’ which Quite often, after doing this, I would get a call from the health records are protected, office manager maintained,had transmitted. Are whom I and handed my brochures to. “Do you every HIPAA you aware that think you could help my husband punishable by so of violation is not snore fines much?” Absolutely! $250k?!?! humbleDen$50k - From A recent beginnings I have seen doctors “These talTown article states, create significant and consistent very real conlaws translate to a referral sources. It is not rocket science but is cern because the simple fact you have to putthat the Gmail account isn’t in your work and rest assured, it will pay handsomely. a joke. secure and Dropbox is Many physician offices are open to 5 DENTALSLEEPSOLUTIONS.COM 1 www.DentalSleepSolutions.com lunch and learns. Dr. Drake recently did one in San Antonio for a rather large ENT group. Their practice has seven physicians and a staff of 32. We brought box lunches from a local deli and presented a 30 minute power point about how we could work together while they ate their sandwiches. Two docs showed up and 29 staff members. Cost me less than $500 and a couple hours’ of time. Every timeHow long did itand to start we use these free take getting referrals? Less than 24 easy services to innocently comhours! with each other about municate anything having to do with a patient or aDental Sleep Solutions has precase, we’re in violation. Every pared power points for our Memsingle time we send or receive bers to utilize. potential need to cusinformation is a new You’ll fine tomizeof how the informationpersonal because them with your is information, of course, as well as transmitted.” Fortunately, for DS3 to the specific audience, but these Members, this is not a concern. power points can & HITECH DS3 is indeed a HIPAA be a powerful tool to help youthe only dedi- pacompliant EMR. It is get more tients. Start the conversation with cated dental sleep medicine softhowthat meets these criteria. Stay can ware that particular specialist help you. curve, avoid hefty ahead of the ENT’s, for example, we implore to helptoday to ensure fines, & contact me our patients breathe better through their that your DSM patient data is senose. Once they know that you cure with DS3. to you. Customize each one to the type of physician you are visiting.  PCP: Treating OSA will make patient’s healthier. Period. Across the board.  ENT: I need someone I can refer to who can increase nasal patency, treat GERD, allergies  Cardiologist: We can help control hypertension, A fib, V fib, coronary artery disease  Gastro / Endocrine / Nutritionists: We can help patients lose weight, better control GERD, better control glucose and insulin levels  Rheumatology: Patients who sleep better feel better and complain less Sleep docs / pulmonologists: Just throw me a bone, a crumb, a patient who refuses to wear PAP after a dozen different masks!  Screen your patient base  Office visits to physicians (two per week, 100 per year) Lunch & Learns (one per quarter, increase to one per month) Contact: Brandie Havell Cindy Herbert 877.95.SNORE understand the referral process is Contact me for a sample PowerPoint a two way street, they are much that you can use when giving [email protected] more receptive to your [email protected] Lunch & Learns and more willing to refer patients