So, you are interested in adding laser therapy to your practice. Great! You have taken the first step toward a technological opportunity for both you and your patients. The major benefits of adding laser therapy to your practice include:

• Increased patient flow
• Increased cash flow
• Staying competitive in the market
• Diversifying the conditions you can treat while optimizing outcomes
• Higher patient satisfaction

The next step is to assess why you want to add laser therapy to your practice and how it will be implemented. Questions you should consider include:

• Will laser therapy replace another service?
• Will laser therapy serve as an additional service?
• Who in the practice will perform the service?
• How will fees for the service be structured?

Once those questions have been answered, you will have a better understanding of the who, what, why and how of laser therapy. All that will be left to do is implement the services. Here are three key ways you can achieve laser therapy success in your practice.

1. Understand Your Patient Demographics

Reviewing your patient demographics is essential for determining how laser therapy can be best applied within your practice and will help you get a better understanding of what their treatment goals will be. Your patients will likely fall into one of the following categories:

Athletes. Patients who are athletes, or even just younger, more active patients, will likely be pursuing rehab for an injury, performance enhancement services or even just information about the research supporting laser therapy.

Personal injury patients. Patients that have suffered from a personal injury will likely be pursuing treatment that can help with acute pain and injury without taking too much time. Your protocol should be for your doctors to explain that laser therapy can be used for chronic pain management as well.

Workers compensation beneficiaries. Injured workers will likely be most interested in a quick return to work without having a lot of downtime. They will want a more complete recovery with lasting benefits.

Older patients. Older patients may be most interested in staying active as they continue to age, being able to enjoy different activities and lowering the number of prescription medications they take. Laser therapy presents a great non-drug opportunity for pain relief and recovery.

2. Prepare Marketing Materials

Your patients need to understand how laser therapy can optimize their care, so marketing the technology to them should be a priority. Marketing materials in the form of in-office pamphlets and brochures, direct-mailing campaigns, email blasts and social media posts can help to spread the word to your patients about this noninvasive, low-risk treatment option for their maladies.

Multi Radiance created a laser therapy integration package to get you started in marketing laser to your patients. Stored on a convenient and portable business card-sized flash drive, you’ll find the following for marketing and practice integration:

• Office posters and brochures
• Videos explaining how laser works and how to use it
• Rental agreement
• Sample radio and print ads
• Sample press releases

To get your patients to understand laser therapy, you need to be able to describe the process and protocols. Keep it simple. Consider leveraging this definition:

Laser therapy refers to the use of laser and light from very specific regions from the light spectrum to stimulate the body's natural recovery processes.  Low level laser therapy is a non-pharmacological and proven safe and effective method for pain relief, increasing circulation, and resolving injuries faster.

You will also want to explain which injuries to what parts of the body stand to benefit the most from the procedure, as these are typically the most common questions asked. Laser therapy is most effective in treating the following:

• Muscles
• Tendons
• Ligaments
• Connective tissue
• Bones
• Nerves
• Skin

3. Educate Your Staff about Laser Therapy and Laser Therapy Protocols

Education is one of the most important factors when it comes to integrating a new technology into a medical practice. You and your staff should also know how to temper patient expectations of laser therapy. Clinicians need to overpromise and over deliver for their patients. For many patients, the idea of laser therapy will be foreign at first, so it’s important not to make it out to be a cure-all. Have your staff emphasize that laser therapy has been shown to be very effective for reducing pain, accelerating recovery, and increasing circulation.

Another way to learn about how Multi Radiance laser technology works is by reading The Pillars Papers series. Download the research and more white papers here.