Promoting PM&R: Telling the Public About Physiatry
In Brief – As stories about back
pain and physiatry continue to appear in regional and national media, the
Academy’s 2003 public relations campaign is moving forward with an additional
objective: to encourage members to use the many Academy resources available to
them to promote their practices and raise awareness of physiatry in their own
communities. This is the first of several stories which will report on the
campaign’s successes, introduce new tools and tactics, and highlight existing
materials and how members can use them.
To date, a total of 17 news stories – in publications
including Kiplinger’s magazine and Advance for Physical Therapists – have
reached more than 11 million readers and viewers with messages about physiatry
and low back pain. That momentum continues to generate new stories and
increased traffic to the AAPM&R Web site.
For example, online consumer health Web site
HealthScout.com posted a March 2003 story on back pain and non-surgical PM&R
treatment options. The story was picked up and posted on several other online
health sites, including ABCnews.com and DrKoop.com. Consumer Reports on Health
will be featuring a similar story on PM&R treatment for back pain in its June
2003 issue.
Back pain has always been one of the most popular PM&R
topics among consumers, and the Academy has excellent materials available to
members designed to advocate and inform patients, the public, and other health
care professionals. These practice-marketing materials include brochures and
slide programs on low back and neck pain.
Brochures
The brochures, Low-Back Pain Rehabilitation and Neck Pain
Rehabilitation, are written for an audience that ranges from patients and
health care professionals to employers and insurers. Each brochure provides
information on the causes and types of low back and neck pain and describes
physiatrists’ unique approach to diagnosing and treating pain. You can view
the text of each brochure online at
www.aapmr.org/member/market/backpain.htm
and www.aapmr.org/member/market/neckpain.htm, or request free sample copies at
www.aapmr.org/member/market.htm.
Dr. Joy White, an AAPM&R member in Rancho Mirage,
Calif., uses the low back pain brochure to help her patients understand the
possible causes of their pain and how a physiatrist can help. She finds the
brochure especially helpful with her senior patients, as well as those who are
dealing with back pain for the first time. She says her patients are reassured
when they see that the information comes from a professional medical society.
“I use the brochures to help people understand why
certain tests and procedures are used,” Dr. White says. “Many people have
difficulty understanding that back pain can be caused by many different
things, making it especially important that the source of the pain be
diagnosed so that treatment can be tailored to the cause.”
She suggests brochures not only answer questions
patients have, but also prompt them to ask additional questions they may not
have thought of.
Dr. White, who works in a group practice with
orthopedists, has provided a number of AAPM&R low back pain brochures to the
practice’s spinal surgeon, who gives them to patients who do not need surgery.
Members can also place them in local health clubs and
sporting goods stores and distribute them to other physicians or allied health
care professionals to put in their waiting rooms.
Slide program for consumers
Another tool available to members is a slide and script
program on low back pain. With 22 colored slides accompanied by a 20- to
30-minute script, the program is designed for presentation to consumer
audiences.
It focuses on the PM&R approach to low back pain care and treatment, including
information on the possible causes of pain and a successful treatment case
study.
The slide and script program is ideal for presentation
to active adults and seniors. To reach these audiences, consider approaching
local fitness clubs and consumer groups to schedule speaking engagements.
YMCA chapters across the country offer “Healthy Back” programs that provide
information for members on injury rehabilitation and fitness programs. To find
a YMCA in your area, visit the Y’s Web site at
www.ymca.net/index.jsp.
The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org)
is another national organization that offers a variety of local health and
information programs for consumers. Other venues for community speaking
engagements include hospital outreach programs, civic health fairs, senior
centers, the Kiwanis, Lions Clubs and Chambers of Commerce.
Members can download the slides and script at through
this link, or can order slides at a cost of $60.
Slide program for health care professionals
A second low back pain slide and script program is
available to help members explain the benefits of PM&R care to referring
health professionals such as primary care physicians, orthopedists and
neurologists, and to allied health specialists such as physical and
occupational therapists, nurses and speech pathologists. Opportunities to
reach these audiences can be arranged through state medical societies and
grand rounds programs at local hospitals.
This 52-slide presentation and script can be downloaded
for free through
this link, or ordered as slides at a cost of $95.
Contact us
As the public relations program moves forward, the Academy
will continue to place stories about physiatry with the media and will create
and offer educational practice-marketing materials to members. We’d like to
know if and how you’re using Academy tools and tactics. Are there materials
you like and use? Are there particular topics you would like to see covered?
Do you ever speak to community groups about physiatry? If you have opinions or
experiences you think might help other members communicate about physiatry,
contact Joanne Constantine at the Academy office at (312) 464-9700.
Use the AAPM&R publication order form to order any of
these publications, or to view all available marketing tools.
If you choose not to download the Reader to
view this file, contact AAPM&R at (312) 464-9700 for instructions on
requesting a form.
|back to top|
| 
