As Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause mass closures and escalating fears, all of us need guidance and reassurance through these challenging times \u2014 especially your patients. At Legwork, we believe we\u2019re all in this together, so we\u2019ve compiled ways that you can help reassure and keep in touch with your patients during this uncertain season.<\/p>\n
Have you temporarily closed due to government order? Is your practice staying open for emergency procedures only? Once you\u2019ve consulted state, local, and CDC guidelines <\/a>, and determined your course of action, it\u2019s time to send an email. Emailing your patients will be the best way to keep in touch with them over the coming weeks. First off you can update them on your business hours and offer the chance to reschedule or defer upcoming treatments. Longer-term, email provides an avenue to stay top of mind with patients, so they\u2019ll know to reschedule once life returns to normal. Legwork customers have access to a pre-written COVID-19 email template, which you can edit to suit your specific needs and practices. Learn how to access this template at our support page <\/a>.<\/p>\n As mandates and restrictions are evolving by the day, you may need to communicate on short notice. If that\u2019s the case, notifying your patients as soon as possible is essential. That\u2019s an ideal use for text messaging. Text messages are the best way to send immediate, short-form communications. We don\u2019t recommend using text for routine messages or extended updates \u2014 it\u2019s hard to keep the format consistent across all models of phone, and excessive messaging can prompt patients to unsubscribe. But for fast updates, there\u2019s no better option. Keep your text messages under 140 characters for best results. Here\u2019s an SMS-friendly sample message that you can use as a basis for your own communications:<\/p>\n Hello, [[Account Name]] is only open for emergency service for the next two weeks per CDC regulations. Call [[Account Office Number]] if you need to reschedule.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You\u2019ve probably noticed a flood of COVID-19 emails in your own inbox lately. Your patients are likely seeing the same, so you don\u2019t want to add too much to the deluge. Social media channels are a superior option for less urgent, ongoing communications. Post to your blog and Facebook page to share updates on your practice\u2019s operations, so it\u2019s the first thing patients find when they check your web presence. These platforms are also great for sharing verified news and information. By providing valuable, relevant content, patients will turn to you as a trusted resource, and will keep you top of mind even as they spend weeks away from your practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause mass closures and escalating fears, all of us need guidance and reassurance through these challenging times \u2014 especially your patients. At Legwork,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legwork"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Step 2: Text your patients to notify them of a change in services, schedule, or office closure.<\/h3>\n
Step 3: Post updates to your social channels to keep patients up to date.<\/h3>\n