Righttime Medical Care has developed a program within its urgent care practice for assessing patients, often young athletes, for concussion. Called HeadFirst Sports Injury and Concussion Care, it boasts clinical staff trained in FDA-approved baseline tests. As with any new idea, however, the challenge is making sure the people who need your services know you’re there. Righttime hit upon the right idea when they linked their own promotional efforts to the Brain Injury Association of America’s (BIAA) Brain Injury Awareness Month (March) and Brain Injury Awareness Day (March 22). While BIAA has been issuing its own press releases promoting brain injury awareness among the general public and legislators, Righttime has been getting the word out that it’s offering free concussion baseline tests all month long. (The baseline test is a computerized tool that establishes a patient’s standard reactions and cognitive thinking, so clinicians can judge whether those factors have been impaired upon giving the test again after the patient has sustained a blow to the head.)
More to the point as it applies to the wider urgent care field, Righttime cites BIAA’s program in its own press releases, thereby validating the services it offers. No matter what your niche is, it’s likely there’s a national effort to increase awareness. Do you specialize in smoking cessation? The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout is the third Thursday in November every year. November is also National Diabetes Month, with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease rolling out a slew of educational programs and materials. The Heart Foundation has declared February to be Heart Disease Awareness Month.
Even if you don’t have a “specialty” within your urgent care practice, these all reflect health concerns that are common among your patients. Think about how you can amplify your own message when someone with broader reach and deeper pockets is already drawing the public’s attention.