To learn more about this exciting technology and our services, please select from the following articles:
Now You Know responds to September 11th tragedy in monthly email newsletter for patients. Click here for article that was sent to tens of thousands of chiropractic patients.
Your Patients Are Looking, Will They Find You?
Dr. Barge Joins Now You Know Inc. in Offering New Service
Using
Information Technology in a Chiropractic Office.
What would BJ Have Done?
Websites; It's About the Content
Building Your Practice With the Internet
Company Uses Technology to Spread Chiropractic Message
Who
creates the articles and information for
Now You Know?
At Now You Know we research and use only credible sources for information for our newsletter and website, Drs, Harman and Braile research and write all the information you see in the Now You Know newsletters and on the common pages on the Now You Know subscriber web sites.
Drs. Harman and Braile have over 40 year experience in chiropractic practice between them and have both had large successful high volume practices. Both have also been involved in teaching and lecturing on numerous subjects in chiropractic in chiropractic colleges and at numerous seminars nationwide.
This unique blend of experience is what makes the information created at Now You Know perfect for patient education while holding to a solid principled message of chiropractic with a strong scientific validity.
As with all visionaries, these two came from varied background which included a variety of experience prior to their years in chiropractic. To get a glimpse of their prior lives please click on the picture to the right.
Your Patients Are Looking, Will They Find You?
By Bob Braile, D.C.
Whether you know it or not, your patients are already looking for health information more than you think. In fact they are looking for more information than you are making available. Today the Internet has become the world’s largest health information encyclopedia. The public is looking for health information by the millions.
The question we have to ask ourselves as chiropractors is, are they finding our message. Never before in history have we had a playing field so level when it came to dissemination of health care information. Medical big-bucks will not dominate the Internet the way they can television or the news media. On the Internet, a chiropractic web site can be viewed as easily as Web-MD.
Extensive research is being done on an ongoing basis to see exactly how much and how often the public is using the Internet to gather health information. The numbers from these various studies are waking up many in the health care industry. The following statistics come from the Pew Internet & American Life Project online life report of NOVEMBER 26, 2000. This extensive survey speaks for itself on the need to be involved with the Internet for patient education and your practice.
Not only are people looking for health information, they are using this information to strongly influence their decisions about health care. The last two statistics show that consumers who are asking questions based on the information they found on the Web are impacting doctors’ practices. Many patients when they enter a doctor’s office already know more about their health problems than does the doctor. From the above numbers, it becomes obvious that having a presence on the web is an absolute necessity for your practice and for the chiropractic profession.
Another telling statistic from the PEW research is that consumers found it important to get health information anonymously. I believe this opens a door to a vast number of people who would not have considered chiropractic before. Many people do not even seek a chiropractor because they know too little about it. Many will never go out of their way to go to a chiropractor to ask the questions they might want to. But with the Internet, they can get those answers in a non-threatening, non-confrontational way.
Looking at the tracking statistics for my personal web site for my clinic, shows me that as many as 60 people a day browse my site. Certainly I would estimate that greater than half of those are current patients that I have sent to my site to seek information on chiropractic. That still means that a fair number of people each day are looking at my clinic web site to check out chiropractic and my office. These are people who I would never reach with my message if it were not for the Internet. Additionally, about half of the patients who receive my email newsletter each month read it and then forward it on to others. This increases the amount of people hearing my chiropractic message each month.
Overall, we now have a way to spread our message that was never before available to us. This new technology is not only limitless, but is also more affordable than all previous means of publicity we have tried before. If we truly want to take the chiropractic message globally, we cannot afford not to have our message on the Internet.
2001 A Cyberspace Odyssey
by Bob Braile, DC
“Hello Dave, I am the Hal 9000, can I sing you a song? Daisy, daisy give me your answer do…” If these words mean anything to you, you are dating yourself. For those who remember, the Hal 9000 was the futuristic computer from the movie “2001 A Space Odyssey”. In that movie we were all taught that computers were too smart, and could ruin us and create havoc.
Well, we have reached the year 2001. And although we are not engaging in manned missions to Jupiter to explore the origins of the universe, we have become completely dependant on computers. Computers now run our cars, our TVs, and our offices. But nowhere has the computer become more of a part of our lives than in communications, specifically the Internet.
Imagine this, a new patient calls your office for an appointment. They are directed to your web site for driving directions and an overview of what will happen on the first visit. They are also instructed to download and fill out all needed forms before they come in. They then walk into the office, already knowing what to expect because they have read over your first visit instructions, and they have all the needed forms filled out. After they complete their first visit they return home to find an email from you thanking them for the trust they have placed in you for choosing your office.
The next day that new patient returns for a report of findings. Along with a report from you, they are given some written materials that direct them back to specific pages on your web site for further information and a more detailed explanation. In subsequent days and weeks they get other emails from you reminding them of the importance of following their care plan. Each month they get a full email newsletter that deals with many issues in chiropractic and health care. When they refer in their friends to become new patients, they get an email thanking them for the kind gesture. And on their birthday, they receive a Happy Birthday email from your office.
If all this seems futuristic, it’s not! In fact, this is exactly how my own office functions right now. After all it is almost 2001! Using email and a web site is no longer a nice toy or an advertising gimmick. It should be a regular integrated part of your office function. The opportunities you can gain from using this technology are enormous.
Review for a minute the new patient process I outlined above. When that new patient was directed toward your web site they immediately realized you are high tech. They also get to see you and your office so that they feel more at ease. When viewing your new patient instructions they lose any apprehension about what is to take place and what your focus of care will be. They download your forms and fill them out in the comfort of their own home at their leisure.
Upon entering your office they already have filled out your entry forms which should reduce their time in your waiting room. Their time from entry to seeing the doctor is reduced, which makes most patients much more pleased with the experience. Since they are familiar with the procedures of your office they cooperate better and you spend less time explaining your office routine. Their first visit goes much quicker and they are more impressed with you and your message.
When they return home they find an email from you welcoming them to your office. This really lets them know you care. They become more receptive to future email messages and newsletters. In many cases they will even forward your emails on to friends and relatives whom they would like to get to come in to see you. You have now provided them with the tools they need to help spread the message of chiropractic. No longer will they be at a loss to explain to their friend why he or she should come see you. Now they can direct that person to your web site to see for themselves.
Used properly, email and web sites are the best patient educational tools beyond direct communications with the doctor. It should be an integral part of your practice procedure and patient education. Now You Know Inc. is determined to help chiropractors learn and maximize this media, to help chiropractors spread the message of chiropractic. Our three services can be seen at www.nowyouknow.net and www.echiropractic.net . But these services are not as helpful as they can be unless you make the decision to integrate Internet technology into the main educational process of your practice. As you can see the possibilities are endless. The Internet provides us with the greatest patient educational tool we have ever had in chiropractic.
Dr. Barge Joins Now You Know Inc. in Offering New Service
Dr. Fred Barge, one of the most prolific authors in chiropractic, has joined forces with Now You Know Inc. lending his expertise to a new high tech patient communications Internet service called "Echiropractic."
Dr. Bob Braile, president of Now You Know Inc., one of the largest providers of Internet services to chiropractors, commented, "We are proud to unveil "Echiropractic" and to have an author the caliber of Dr. Barge added to our new service by providing us with his patient writings."
The new service -- on the web at www.echiropractic.net -- features unlimited online chiropractic pamphlets and letters written by both Drs. Braile and Barge.
For a minimal yearly subscription, doctors may send, via the Internet, unlimited customized and personalized chiropractic pamphlets on a wide variety of subjects, directly to all their patients with Internet access. Patients can read them at home on their own computers and then forward them to others.
This service is not unlike the popular online greeting card services, but with an important difference. Echiropractic sends solid, principled chiropractic messages over the Internet with the subscribing doctor's office information and a personal message.
Dr. Braile began Now You Know Inc. a little over two years ago as an in-office project.
"I regularly sent paper newsletters to my patients for the first 17 years of my practice in Florida," he explained. "When I opened up a low-overhead, cash practice in Georgia, I wanted a more high-tech way to continue to send newsletters to my patients. After I sent my first e-mail newsletter, I could not believe the response. Within a month I started Now You Know."
A few short months after launching the e-mail newsletter service, Now You Know was offering web sites complete with volumes of pages on principled chiropractic issues, as well as scientific articles on chiropractic and the wellness paradigm. This new announcement of the opening of "Echiropractic" marks the third major service offered by Now You Know.
"Integrating Internet technology into your chiropractic office is quickly becoming a necessity, not a luxury," stated Dr. Braile. "Communicating with patients via e-mail, as well as using web sites as an informational source for patients is the most effective way I can think of to get volumes of resources to patients on the subjects we have always wanted them to know."
Now You Know Inc.'s seminar programs are becoming increasingly popular as more chiropractors want to know how to use this vast communications technology to tell the chiropractic story to their patients and community. Hundreds of D.C.s have attended programs hosted by organizations, colleges, and councils. One recent attendee commented, "I thought the presentation was high tech (the most high tech presentation I have seen to date), informative, and very easy to utilize in any office."
"I have tested Echiropractic in my own office and it works great," said Dr. Braile. "Imagine having a new patient and before they even get home you've sent an e-mail welcoming them to your office and an e-mail to the person who referred them!"
Dr. Braile continued, "I can now send my patients every type of letter and pamphlet I've always wanted to without spending on postage or envelopes. It is so immediate, that if a patient discusses an issue with me on a certain visit, I can e-mail them information on that before the day is over."
In just two short years Now You Know Inc. has become a chiropractic Internet success story. In addition to hosting hundreds of web sites and e-mail newsletters, the messages delivered by the service each month through its subscribers' newsletters and web sites reach tens of thousands of chiropractic patients monthly.
"Our first goal is to be reaching one million chiropractic patients and consumers each month with a strong principled chiropractic message," stated Dr. Braile confidently. "B.J. Palmer was always at the leading edge of communications technology for his day. If he'd had these tools you can bet he would have been right there pushing the technology envelope to spread the chiropractic message."
Now You Know Inc. also hosts other chiropractic service sites such as www.dc2be.com, a free resource site for chiropractic students. Additionally, the company sends out a free monthly e-mail newsletter to thousands of chiropractors titled, "The Information Age," on how to integrate this technology into a chiropractic office.
Information on all of the Now You Know Inc. services -- including the new service Echiropractic -- can be obtained at its web sites: www.nowyouknow.net and www.echiropractic.net.
Using Information Technology in a Chiropractic Office.
What would BJ Have Done?
By Bob Braile, D.C.
I’ve heard it many times before, “I don’t know anything about computers or the Internet, I’m a Chiropractor. All I need are my hands and Innate.” This curious statement has been spoken by a number of principled chiropractor describing why they don’t need to get involved with communications technology in their office. My response to that is, “What would BJ have done?”
Personally I can’t think of a more principles chiropractor that B Palmer. After all, he developed most of the principles we have learned in chiropractic. So we must ask ourselves what would BJ have been involved with if he were alive today? Would he have bothered with this Internet or email? Would he have given chiropractic an presence in cyberspace?.. You bet!
Probably, no chiropractor was more involved with technology that BJ was. From his use of x-ray early on, to his research clinics, to the neurocalagraph, to his neuroencephalomentipograph, he always wanted to have chiropractic be on the cutting edge. But probably nowhere, was he more into the use of technology than in the utilization of communications technology of the day.
The Palmer radio station, WOC (wonders of chiropractic) was one of the first stations to have coast to coast broadcasts. He was an innovator and big proponent for using this new media to spread the chiropractic message. He got into television in a big way as soon as the technology was available. He used these technologies to spread the message of chiropractic to those who would have never have the opportunity to hear about it. So, if it were available, do you think he would have been involved with the Internet? Absolutely!
Presently, close to 300 million people have access to the Internet. Weekly, between 50 and 60 million people surf the web for information. Every day in the United States, 2500 new people get online and start using the internet. The response rates are higher than almost any other means for internet advertising and messaging. Advertisers are falling over each other to make their message seen over the internet. Even the medical profession and drug companies are starting to wade in to internet communications in a big way.
So what can we do as chiropractors to get involved with this communications revolution? First is to realize that our current and future patients are already there! Start collecting your patients email addresses. When asking a patient for their email address, there are only two answers you will get, “yes” and “not yet”. If a patient is not on the net yet, they will be. We should be collecting our patient’s emails with the same energy that you use to obtain their phone numbers. No matter how many of your patents presently are on the net and have email, more of them will be each and every week.
Second is to get on the internet yourself. If you are not using this technology to keep yourself current in health care issues and chiropractic, you are missing out, and your patients are not getting the benefit of your best information.
There are plenty of recourses available to you to help bring you into the information age. The mission statement of www.nowyouknow.net is: “To bring chiropractors into the Information Age.” To achieve this mission Now You Know has instituted the Web Site Design and Hosting services and a Patient Email Newsletter service. These two profession leaders, are the largest services of their type in chiropractic, literally spreading the chiropractic message to tens of thousands of people every month. In addition to these subscription services, Now You Know offers server Free resources.
A Free email newsletter, “The Information Age” is available to anyone with email who wishes to subscribe. This free monthly email newsletter helps chiropractors understand the ins and outs of the Internet and gives chiropractors advice on how to get the most out of this technology to help spread their message to their patients and the community.
Additionally, Now You Know offers a student resource site www.dc2be.com . This student site offers a variety of services and information for the future chiropractor, including technique and philosophy articles from leaders in our profession. The site also offers an “Open Forum” where student can exchange ideas and views on chiropractic education as well as other concerns in chiropractic. Both www.dc2be.com and www.nowyouknow.net offer a free classified section for the chiropractic profession to provide some free virtual shopping and resources.
Probably one of the most exciting new sites the in the profession offered by Now You Know is a new site, www.chiropracticresearch.org. This site is designed to be a one-stop resource for links to chiropractic research on the web. It is our hope that this site will become a main avenue for chiropractors, chiropractic patients, and the general press media to find chiropractic research easily.
With so much going on, and so much available, we owe it to ourselves, our patients and the profession to utilize this revolutionary media to enhance and advance the chiropractic message. I’ll be you BJ would have!
Websites; It’s About the Content
By Bob Braile, DC
One of the biggest questions most chiropractors have when starting a website is, “What do I put on my site?” The answer to this important question depends on how you see your web site. Many doctors mistakenly see their web site as an advertisement in cyberspace. They think of a web site as a high tech phone book ad where special effects and splash is the key to success. This view is a critical error.
According to Nelsen/NetRatings, a firm that tracks Internet usage for major corporations, some of the most visited sites are Yahoo, MSN, Excite, Microsoft, AltaVista, NBC Internet, AOL, and About.com. Viewing these sites demonstrates that the most successful sites try to use content to lure visitors. Special effects and animations are a good thing, but after your third visit to a site with special effects and limited content, you are quickly bored. The same is true for your patients.
The problem again is how you view your web site. If you see your web site as a phonebook ad where people are going to be looking for a chiropractor, search the web to find you, open your site, be dazzled by flashing stuff, and then call you, you’re wasting your time. Very few people will be calling you out of the blue from just stumbling across your web site, as there are upwards of 12 million websites presently on the Internet. The biggest usage for your web site will be to enhance the way you get most of your patients now. Referrals!
Unless you are brand new in practice, you already have a bank of patients who are willing to tell others about you. The problem for most of these people is that they do not have the tools and information to properly explain chiropractic to their friends and loved ones. Your web site can give them those tools.
You should view your web as a full color magazine that you can give out to anyone you want. If you were designing such a magazine for your office what would you put in it? Certainly you would not only put the information contained in a phone book ad. You would probably also put information on chiropractic and health related issues. In fact, you would want your web site to be an extension of all the things you would like to tell your patients. Again, it comes down to the quality and quantity of content that will keep people interested and make them show your site to others.
Imagine a patient of yours trying to tell a friend of theirs that they should come to see you. Years ago, that friend would have to convince them about chiropractic enough to have them take the step and call you. Now they can plant the seed and send them to view your web site. This is a non-threatening step that allows the prospective patient to look you and chiropractic over before making that call. This step gives you a chance to start the educational process and removes the biggest obstacle the prospective patient has in front of them, fear of the unknown.
Since we started doing web sites, including my clinic’s web site, I’ve literally had new patients come into my office and say that they felt they already knew me, even though we had never met. This was because they had been referred to my web site by a patient, and read all about me, my practice and chiropractic before deciding to initiate care. This familiarity removed some of the fear prospective patients may have about what to expect. It is infinitely easier to start a new patient who is already familiar with how your office runs and what your view of health and chiropractic is.
Web sites are also a strong source of continuous reinforcement of the chiropractic message to your current patients. Many of us do a good job educating our patients initially only to be quite surprised later when we question those same patients and realize how much they have forgotten. Used properly, your web site can fill that educational gap and continue to reinforce your message. Combining this with an email newsletter may well be the strongest strategy you can utilize for a consistent ongoing educational process.
For most chiropractors, the rigors of a busy practice prevent them from writing the amount of quality content they would like to have on a web site, or in an email newsletter. For many chiropractors, self-publishing of a web site, or bulk emailing is beyond their propensity. For this reason, most chiropractors will turn to a web developing company to create and host their web site. Knowing this there are only two choices. Finding someone who does web sites, OR get a chiropractic company that does all this for you. The problem with using someone not in chiropractic is obviously the content issue. Only someone into chiropractic can write quality chiropractic material.
Knowing these facts, in a relatively short period of time we have built “Now You Know” into the largest provider of Internet services to chiropractors. Quality content and a consistent principled message have been the keys to why hundreds of offices have chosen us for their web site development and for their email newsletters. I recognize that content is crucial for success on the Internet. I therefore make it a priority that Now You Know’s (www.nowyouknow.net) content and message be second to none. No matter how you eventually decide to get your internet presence initiated, remember this. “It’s About the Content!”
How Big is the Internet?
by Bob Braile, D.C.
Not a day goes by that we do not hear of the amazing growth of the communication technology called the Internet. We hear stories of fortunes being made on the Internet, of fledgling companies being started by individuals with a computer and an idea, then selling them for hundreds of millions of dollars. We see every major company today inviting consumers to visit their web site.
And with all the hype about the Internet, most chiropractors still ask the question, "What has this got to do with chiropractic and my practice?"
To answer this question properly we need to understand the impact the Internet is having on our culture, which of course, includes our patients. Examine some of the following statistics for a minute.
* According to a report from the United Nations, the number of Internet users is expected to top the 200 million mark by the year 2000.
* Estimates suggest that 300 million people will be online by the end of the year 2000.
* The number of Internet connections has been doubling every year for the last 11 years.
* Just two years ago, the Netcraft survey counted one million web sites on the Web, the latest survey finds that there are now over five million web sites.
* "The number of people with Internet e-mail access worldwide will grow 800 percent to 450 million in the next three years, up from 60 million today" (Computer Industry Almanac).
* Internet traffic is doubling every 100 days, yielding a yearly growth of more than 700% (U.S. Department of Commerce).
* Global Internet Sales will reach $3.2 trillion in 2003 (Forrester Research).
* At the end of last year, more than 22 million U.S. adults reported going online to find health information, one of the Net's top uses. By next year, experts expect more than 33 million to have researched health issues on line (USA Today, July 15, 1999).
* According to a recent Harris poll, nearly two-thirds of those using the Internet search for health information. For decades, chiropractors have been looking for ways to communicate the chiropractic message to the public.
From the numbers above it isn't a stretch to see that the Internet and the tools it gives you could be a perfect avenue for spreading the message of chiropractic. In fact the point can be made that the public is already there! The next logical question would be, how do you use this technology to your advantage?
The Internet affords chiropractors two very potent tools for communicating our message: web sites and e-mail. Used together, these two tools can be a powerful strategy for your practice. Imagine having a full-color brochure about chiropractic and your office. In this brochure you can have everything you want current and prospective patients to see. Now imagine having thousands of copies of these brochures available for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Now imagine having the ability to get copies of these brochures out to large numbers of your patients as well as prospective patients. Web sites and e-mail affords you this ability.
Over the past year, I have noticed that many chiropractors consider themselves, "Technologically Challenged." This perception has prevented many of them from getting involved with the Internet and e-mail. The truth is, these technologies are relatively easy to get involved with. And for those who prefer not to devote the time to fully learning the Internet technology, there are a host of companies willing to perform various services to get your office and message out to the public.
The Internet can be used both as a source of information for your practice as well as a delivery system for disseminating information out to patients. Most of us are fairly familiar with "browsing" the Internet for everything from travel arrangements to weather maps.
One of the key statistics that we as chiropractors should be keenly aware of is that people are turning to the Internet in record numbers for health care information.
More than ever before, people are empowering themselves with their health care choices by gathering as much information as possible. This translates into visiting web sites. A properly constructed chiropractic web site should be an electronic brochure educating patients about chiropractic and your office.
E-mail is another Internet tool that can be quickly and easily integrated into your practice. If you haven't started to do so already, you should be e-mailing your patients health news clippings on subjects related to chiropractic. Another usage is to send birthday e-mails to patients. Even things such as e-mails to patients to thank them for referrals are fast, easy, and cheap. Patients who receive e-mail from their doctor are surprised and appreciative.
We have a technology that is expanding rapidly, a public that is using it extensively, particularly to look for health care information. We have never been in a better situation with better tools to spread the chiropractic message. If you haven't begun to think about it yet, now is the time to start integrating these technologies into your office
(Dr. Robert Braile is a 1978 graduate of NYCC. He ran a large successful
practice in Rockledge Florida for 17 years before relocating to Georgia. He is
the immediate past President and current Chairman of the Board of the
International Chiropractors Association. He practices in Marietta Ga., and is an
instructor at Life University. He is the President of Now You Know Inc. a
company offering chiropractic Internet services and communication tools to
chiropractors. Their web page is www.nowyouknow.net.)
Company Uses Technology to Spread Chiropractic Message"
Chiropractors now have new ways of communicating directly with their patients; Email and the Internet. "Now You Know" is a new company helping chiropractors reach the public and their patients through this exciting new medium. The two primary services that Now You Know (NYK) offers are a Web site design and hosting service and a patient email subscription newsletter service.
These two new services provide chiropractors with an easy one-stop-shopping way to get a Web site for their office and send a monthly email newsletter out to their patients. These services are the brainchild of Dr. Bob Braile. "Every business either has, or is getting a Web Site. Its not a question of if chiropractors will have Web sites and communicate with patients via email, it’s only a question of when."
Web sites are quickly replacing expensive phone book ads as a primary way to reach the public. To enhance the "hits" to the Web sites of the NYK subscribing offices, an email newsletter service is also available. These email newsletters are customized to appear as if they come directly from the doctor who subscribes to the service. The monthly email newsletter is available separately and provides patients with up-to-date information and research on health and chiropractic as seen in the popular press, in chiropractic periodicals, and on the Web. Each newsletter then asks the reader to "forward" the newsletter to someone else. This increases the exposure for the doctor.
Dr. Cheryl Langley of Georgia is one of the original subscribers to the newsletter service. "Over the years we have spent countless hours and energy putting together and distributing our newsletters to educate our patients and keep them informed." reports Dr. Langley, "With technology advancing so rapidly, we are seeing more of our patients check their "e-mail" more often than their postal mail! With this in mind, as well as the considerable expense in time and money to put together a paper newsletter, we were introduced to "NOW YOU KNOW". After reviewing a sample copy of their e-mail newsletter, I knew this was something that I could be proud to send to my patients, knowing that the material it contained was based on chiropracTIC principles, addressing the subluxation, and keeping our patients informed with the latest research and statistics coming out of the healthcare industry. Writing and researching the material myself would take weeks, not to mention the expense in postage and printing! Drs. Braile and Harman have done it all for you --- and your patients will thank you for it!"
Dr. Eric Plasker founder of the Mothers Morning Out Chiropractic Program, and who also gets the service comments, "’Thanks for the email’, or, ‘I got your email’, or ‘I really appreciated your email’ are comments we hear all the time from our patients. They definitely read our Now You Know newsletter and pass it on to their friends and family members. Now You Know is the newsletter of the present and the future!"
Offices that subscribe to the NYK email newsletter service start by collecting email addresses from their patients using instructions and materials supplied by NYK. The offices then send these addresses to NYK who manages the lists and sends out all email newsletters on a monthly basis. Each full color edition of the NYK newsletter will have a customized email header with logos and pictures so that the patient sees this service as coming directly from the participating doctor's office. The basic subscription rate for the email newsletter service is only $29.95 per month.
The NYK Web site service is unique in chiropractic. Not only does NYK make the service easy by handling all aspects from A to Z, they also include informational back-up pages behind the doctors web site. Information about chiropractic and articles from the NYK newsletters are linked and available for patients to see as they search the doctor’s Web site. The doctor’s NYK Web site then becomes a patient and consumer library of chiropractic information. The subscription for a Web site is only $39.95 per month.
Now You Know is also pushing the technology envelope with a growing list of communication technologies products and services for chiropractors. Other hi-tech products available through NYK are chiropractic educational CD-ROMs, special occasion email templates to send to patients and a 35mm slide / CD-ROM patient orientation that has the highest quality look in chiropractic.
To find out more about the Now You Know services, please visit their Web site at: www.nowyouknow.net . Now You Know has even created a free CD-ROM that explains the NYK services. Information or a free CD-ROM is available by writing Now You Know at 3450 Velma Drive, Powder Springs, GA, 30127, or you can fax them at 770-943-1695, or email them at nowyouknow@nowyouknow.net.
Building Your Practice With the Internet
It is inevitable that each and every one of you reading this will someday soon have a web site, and will be using email to communicate with your patients. The only questions are, "How soon" and "How effectively". The Internet has become a major communication avenue of health information. But for most chiropractors these communication tools still remain a huge untapped resource that could be utilized for educating patients and your community about chiropractic and your services.
In case you haven’t noticed, there is a revolution going on in communications, and your patients are already a part of that revolution. Most chiropractors are surprised when they realize just how many of their patients are actually on the Internet. To get some idea, the Internet Society reports that the number of Internet connections have doubled every year for the last 11 years. They predict that the number of people "online" will top the 300 million mark by the end of the year 2000.
Health information is one of the largest subjects that people research on the Internet. Unfortunately, chiropractic and chiropractors have a limited amount of information available for the public to read. It now becomes our profession’s mission to bring the chiropractic understanding to a world that is already looking for health answers on the Internet.
In the process of educating the public, the chiropractor who uses these tools effectively will get direct benefits in his or her practice. A chiropractic Internet company, "Now You Know" has taken on the task of assisting chiropractors in effectively offering the tools of the Internet to chiropractors who wish to move into the information age. Now You Know offers two primary services, an email newsletter and web site design and hosting, designed to advance the chiropractic message while enhancing the chiropractor’s practice.
Now You Know is the brainchild of Dr. Bob Braile, outgoing president of the ICA. "My vision is to tell millions of people the principled chiropractic story. My vehicle is the Internet," says Dr. Braile. "In the process of spreading the message, chiropractors who use this technology will benefit in their practices, it’s a win-win situation."
Now You Know started when Dr. Braile began sending email newsletters to his patients. "I was quickly amazed at the quantity and quality of the responses I got in replies from patients. Many of them sent me messages telling me they were forwarding my newsletter to friends and relatives." Shortly thereafter Dr. Braile began offering his email newsletter service to the profession. "We set the email service up so that the patients would believe the doctor wrote and sent the newsletter out themselves. I didn’t want the patients to think it came from a service"
Web sites was the next logical extension, as many doctors who wanted the newsletter also wanted a web site. "For most chiropractors creating a web site was unfamiliar territory. I’d heard all kinds of horror stories of wasted time and money with little results," reports Dr. Braile. "I wanted to give the chiropractor a web design and hosting service that was they could trust. I wanted a service that was easy to use so the busy chiropractor didn’t have to become a computer programmer to have a good looking and effective web site."
The Now You Know Web sites offer much more than just web space. "We do everything from creation to design to filling the web sites with content," says Dr. Braile. "We’ve added dozens of pages of written articles and information from our newsletter service directly into our web sites. In this way the doctor’s site literally becomes a chiropractic encyclopedia. For me the bottom line was putting patients into chiropractors’ offices."
Many chiropractors who subscribe to this service agree. "I have found that my patients LOVE the "NOW YOU KNOW" newsletter and forward it to their Internet friends," Dr. Danita Heagy of Florida. "Thanks for creating such an easy, cost effective and impressive way to stay in touch with the people in my community. You really make it easy," Dr. Jason A. Deitch, CA. "I find the great advantage of "Now You Know" in that my patients are forwarding my newsletter via email across the country to friends and relatives," Dr. Adam Proper.
Perhaps most impressive is that patients are responding to these services. Many even reply back to their doctors via email. "Thank you so much for all of these wonderful, informative e-mails. I sure do enjoy reading them. I know this has to be time consuming on your behalf and is just another very strong example of what makes You the BEST! We love you and appreciate you," M.S. of Georgia. Another patient wrote, "Hey, Thanks a lot for the brilliant piece on chiropractic." - L.A. of Ohio. "Cool newsletter. Lots of work!! Lots 'o info! Does this mean I can schedule an appointment via the internet?" - P.P. of California.
The Internet is becoming the largest source of health information available to the public. Now You Know is dedicated to bringing chiropractic to millions of people who need to know about it, and in the process bringing millions of those people into chiropractors offices.