Reach out to physicians and patients this National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week

National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week is March 13-19. Seize this opportunity to call attention to this important field and the work being done to improve lung health both in your community and at your agency. One of the primary reasons patients may need pulmonary rehabilitation is a COPD diagnosis, the nation’s third leading cause of death.

• Start by learning more about the observance at the website of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Download a media/marketing kit while you’re there to get tons of ideas.
• This month provides a great opportunity to build relationships with local pulmonologists. Call on their offices and detail your agency’s program for assisting patients with COPD. Be sure to take along a copy of the patient education guide used by your patients, as well as a clear presentation of the ways your agency’s outcomes surpass others in the nation or state.
• Celebrate your agency’s pulmonary rehabilitation program and the professionals who help it succeed. Highlight them in your agency’s newsletter and decorate an agency bulletin board to honor the work they do.
• Distribute COPD brochures personalized to your agency at your local pharmacies.
• Partner with a local respiratory therapist to host a class on the importance of smoking cessation, lung cancer, asthma or COPD.
• Get involved in the DRIVE4COPD campaign, which is sponsored by the Association for Respiratory Care. Its website offers a helpful COPD screening tool.

February 2014: It’s time for Doctors Day!

One of the best days for marketing in home care is right around the corner: National Doctors Day. We couldn’t do all we do without the expert work of physicians. In the days leading up to this year’s observance, which is on March 30, show how much you appreciate them.

• Hand deliver or send Doctors Day greeting cards, stickers and other small tokens of appreciation to all the physicians in your area. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/doctorsday/.
• Give physicians an incredible tool to help them easily know when it’s appropriate to refer to home health or hospice. Educational pocket reference guides will become an indispensable resource that directs them to your agency. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/homehealth-pocket-reference-guide.php and www.tagwebstore.com/hospice-pocket-reference-guide.php.
• Help make it easy for physicians to refer to home health or hospice by giving them referral pads that provide a simple, clear and direct way to convey the referral. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/physician-prescription-pads.php and www.tagwebstore.com/hospice-physician-prescription-pads.php.
• One of the fastest growing methods doctors are using to increase their Medicare reimbursements is Transitional Care Management, but many still aren’t aware of the benefits or how easy it is. Get a comprehensive TCM educational kit for home health agency sales and marketing at www.tagwebstore.com/transitional-care-management.php.

Healthy diet takes center stage this month with National Nutrition Month. It’s a great opportunity to spread the word about the importance of eating well and living well. This year’s theme for the March observance is “Enjoy the taste of eating right.”

• Host a class at a local senior center on diet and nutrition. Find a ready-made class at www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.
• Leave a stack of agency rack cards about weight loss at your local pharmacy counters. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/rack-cards.php.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week is the perfect time to call attention to respiratory diseases and the many ways your agency can help those living with these conditions. This year’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week is March 9-15.

• Set up a booth at a well-attended community eventand educate about COPD and other respiratory conditions. Be sure to have agency flyers about COPD as well as general marketing brochures available for attendees. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php and www.tagwebstore.com/marketing-brochures.php.
• Visit your hospital discharge planners and be sure to leave behind educational mousepads that describe the indications for a COPD home health referral. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/mousepads.php.
• Visit your local pulmonologists and discuss the benefits your program has for their patients. Leave behind brochures about COPD and how your agency can help. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/disease-information-brochures.php.