Partnering with Primary Care: How QuickTest Supports Hearing Practice Growth

Welcome to This Week in Hearing. Hello, I’m Bob Traynor, your host for this episode. And today we’re going to talk about some interesting innovations at Shoebox. My guest today is Angela Morris from Shoebox, who is a an account manager and partnership liaison with these people at this point in time. And many of you may know Angela from some of her other roles in audiology. Thanks for being with us today, Angela. It’s very my pleasure to be with you and interacting over a topic as well. That’s an industry thing as well as a kind of an audiology marketing innovation. Yes, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the time. Well in case some of you don’t know, Dr. Morris Angela has been an audiologist since 1999, working in clinics, hospitals and a private practice setting before moving to this industry side. And after selling her practice in Southeastern Kentucky, she joined Shoebox as an account manager and partnership liaison, bringing experience from her previous role as regional sales manager for Widex. Angela has held leadership roles in our profession. She has been, she is the past president of both the Kentucky Academy of Audiology and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology and has served on the Kentucky Audiology and Speech Licensing Board and now resides in Northern Kentucky. And again, it’s my pleasure to be with you. And you know, I guess my first question here, Angela, is even though you had a very successful practice, you were a rising star on the professional association group as well as in, in audiology practice, what caused you to kind of move again over to the dark side in industry? Well, that’s a good question. So yes, I, I had my practice, loved it. My husband decided to take a new role in a new state in Illinois actually. And so at that time I sold my practice to one of my audiologists and, and that was the year I was actually president of ADA. So I’m was pretty busy doing all the work for them at that time. So after that was over though, I had to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. And so I decided I would try the industry side. So that’s what led me to Widex and then another move back to Kentucky for my husband’s job. And I hope we’re where we’re going to stay now, so we’re all good. But that led me to Shoebox. I kind of took a break for about a year with that move and I was just very blessed to have this opportunity with Shoebox, it was working with someone that I knew and respected. And I feel like I really could stand behind the solutions that Shoebox has because with my experience in private practice, I feel like that I had a little bit of knowledge to share on expanding practices and growing services making practices more efficient. And I do feel like the Shoebox solutions can provide that for them. Wow. You know, I I’ve always been in awe of our of our predecessors, guys like Jerry Northern and some of the other colleagues that allowed us to kind of move to the dark side and then kind of come back and then kind of go back, maybe back and forth. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bernafon and doing some international things for them. And so I totally understand how a person would go from a very successful practice and very successful career over to the dark side. Maybe they’ll come back and see us a little bit on the other side, as many of us have done. Right. Well, I know today we’re talking about the Shoebox use of the Shoebox products in kind of a new way. Can you give us an idea of of how that works and someone with your background in practice and in the profession, you’re the ideal person, from what I can tell, to actually present this kind of a concept for the Shoebox people? Sure. So today we’re kind of talking about our Quick Test solution and how that can work with primary care offices and I feel like it’s a great opportunity for primary care to use hearing screenings in their workflow. Because first of all, primary care sees a wide variety of patients for many reasons. I do also feel like that most people don’t realize they have a hearing loss. They go to a physician and if they don’t bring it up in their annual exams or any, or if they went for a eye problem or a cold or whatever, they usually don’t bring up hearing. It’s really, they think that everybody else has a problem, they’re mumbling or they, you know, don’t talk loud enough or those kinds of things. So for those reasons having a screening at the primary care allows that primary care physician not only to provide a more comprehensive evaluation for their patient, especially at those annual exams but it also allows the patient to get some education about their hearing health that they probably would have not otherwise got. So with, with our quick test solution, this is a great opportunity for us to to work and build those physician relationships as audiology clinics or hearing care clinics, and provide that relationship with them for the benefit of not only the hearing care provider clinic, but for the physician and the patient. So now by primary care, you’re referring to general physicians as well as family practice and some of those kinds of clinics. Yes, yes. And now so do you. What do you think these screenings should really be part of a general primary care workflow? And how. Well. And sorry, how would that. How would that work? I mean, and possibly maybe mention something with your background about whether it requires a license to actually do that test and that kind of stuff. Yeah. So yes, I do think, like I said, it’s a great opportunity there because I think people go for a variety of reasons. So for that instance, they’re at that particular physician probably more than they’re at, like, a specialist office or some other entity. So it’s the perfect place to lay that groundwork and to have that opportunity to capture them. And I think as far as Who can do the testing, you know, with our Quick Test, it is a screener it can work very seamlessly into their flow because, you know, there’s some reasons why primary care may not do hearing screenings. And I think a couple of key factors there are time and reimbursement. You know, I think all providers want to do what’s best for their. For their patients. But again, if patients are coming in and they’re not talking about hearing loss, they don’t think they have a problem, they’re not bringing it up. So at that point, there’s not a reason to screen for it. So but by allowing a way to put. Put this seamlessly into their workflow you know, it allows that benefit for all. So, again, time and reimbursement are going to be key factors. I do think also the lack of knowing who to refer to. So you know, if audiologists are not going out and trying to build these physician relationships a physician’s not going to do something if they don’t have an outcome or a place to refer to. Right. So if they find out they had a reduced hearing loss or they do have an issue, what then? So as a, As a audiologist or as a provider, we need to say this is the path, this is the referral path, and we need to lay a plan for them. That, again, is not going to cost them any more time. And they’re not going to have to worry about any reimbursements so again with this, if they don’t have that plan, they’re just going to refer to those places they hear, they’re not going to research out. Let’s see, if a person comes to me for hearing loss, who can I send them to? They’re not going to take the time to research who what all offices are around them. They’re going to send them to those national chains that they hear about on TV or that are just out in social media. Right. So this is a great way for them to do it. Now again back to who can do the test? Its a screener. So when they provide this, the way I see kind of the workflow for this the quick test is a quick 2 minute screening test that the patient can do while they’re waiting for that physician to come in the room. So when the assistant pulls them out of the waiting room and says, okay Mr. Smith, it’s your time, we’re going to come back to room number two, you know, what brings you in today? They talk about that, probably not hearing, they’re not going to say that. So they go through all of their routine. At the end of it they’ll say okay you know, Dr. So and so will be in here to see you in a few moments. While you’re waiting, we would like for you to take this hearing screening. So again they hand them this, it’s a self driven screening by the patient so they can take it, they can do the screening. So again key parts, there’s no extra time invested on the physician side. So that’s a win-win there. For the patient it’s kind of a win because it gives them something to do while they’re waiting on the doctor. Because very seldomly is that wait just two minutes. If they’re like me, I’m like scanning the room trying to figure out what all the little things do and what they’re going to poke me with next or whatever. So it’s kind of nice to have that. But this allows that physician again to document those results and to make recommend for their result without having to do anything extra on their time. They don’t have to actually fill out any paperwork or don’t have to actually send a referral over or anything like that. So it’s a relatively simple thing and it can be done easily even as even part of diabetic screening or whatever else the physician feels is necessary. And now this is a, this is still the tablet based kind of a screening device. And so in terms of the way it integrates, we’re going to give it to patients before the physician comes in, use that time, and they probably get done with it, as you said, a whole lot sooner than to talk to them. And of course we all know why those things happen because, oh, somebody needs you on the phone, somebody needs you over here. Somebody just walked in on and on and on. So they are under similar pressures to what practitioners are. Yeah. So now in terms of the primary care providers, what kind of value does that offer them mean? My guess is some of it is they find a place to go, as you’ve suggested for hearing kinds of things. So maybe we talk about what happens, what’s in it for the, for the professional, the primary care provider, and what’s in it for the practitioner that’s kind of interacting with them to begin the process in their clinic? Yeah, absolutely. So again, for the, for the primary care physician, I think that again, having the ability to do that more comprehensive evaluation it just gives them more information about their patient as a whole. So when doing those annual routine screenings, it’s nice to be able to add that in again, there’s no charge to the physician in the suggested use that we’re talking about like with this. So again, when we talked about time and reimbursement being an issue or a lack of a reason why they would do it, it kind of takes that out of the equation, which is nice. No additional time factor in their workflow and there’s no cost to them to provide this for, for their patients. And again, having that referral pathway set. And it’s so important for the hearing care professional who will be providing this tool to build that trust and relationship. Because again, that physician needs to understand and know that their patients are going to be cared for and they’re going to be followed up with the result that they got. So that’s really important. And on the hearing care professional side, again, building those relationships are key. And when I had my practice, mine was I’ll go out to the physician’s office and I’ll take some articles on comorbidities with, with hearing loss and different things like that to try to get their interest. Who knows if they ever read them because very rarely did I make it past the front, the front desk. You know, there’s always that person that you have to, I mean, and that’s a person, that’s a screener. And they’re out to try to keep us from seeing the physician. Exactly. We don’t want you in here. And that person is extremely important in these. They are good. It isn’t so much get the physician, because they’d probably be real excited about what we’re doing, but you have to convince that that that hardcore person at the front desk or. Behind the front desk. That you’re so important that you’ve got to talk with the physician somehow. Right. So with that, you know, we did that, maybe send a few treats for the staff and you’re basically just trying to get them to remember you. And again, another key factor is that when patients come in, remember they’re not really bringing up hearing loss for the most part, unless there’s a sudden hearing loss. And that’s the reason for being there. Probably hearing loss is not even brought up because again they’re not, the patients aren’t bringing it up, the physicians aren’t really asking. So you know, you have all of that going on and it worked for maybe a week or two. They would cut, you would be in the top of mind and then, you know, they would do it and then it kind of dwindled off and then of course you’d have to go back again. So that was constantly, you know, with this particular method using the Quick Test that we have it is such a, a good flow. Again it flows, you know, seamlessly into the, the physician’s workflow. But for the actual hearing care provider, the offers a portal. So every patient that, that physician sees, that takes this test, the information for their testing, that data is going into a portal that the hearing care provider has access to. So at this point when they’re taking it, their team can now look at all of these hearing results. If they’re normal. I mean I’m all about keeping your patients, your patients. So if you’re normal, I would highly suggest that they say, hey Ms. Smith, you’ve had a hearing test or a hearing screen at Dr. So and so’s office. We see you have normal. That’s fantastic. This is your opportunity to provide them with education on what to do next. A yearly hearing evaluation, if that’s your plan. But to give them a plan moving forward, you want them, if they do start experiencing hearing loss to come back to you or if they have friends that they encounter that have hearing loss or mention it, you want them to refer them to you. So by having your team contact people in the portal, no matter what the result is for normal hearing, those are going to bring people into your office probably at a later time, but it’ll bring them back to your office. If they do show a reduced loss on that screening this is the time you’ll say okay, Mr. Smith, you had a hearing screening at Dr. So and so’s office and we saw you had A reduced loss. We would like to schedule you for a full evaluation so we can further evaluate your hearing and see, you know, how we can help. So this is again your team’s ability to then turn these patients into, you know, these referrals. And again, that doctor didn’t have to do a thing. You know, they didn’t have to send fax over referral, they didn’t have to do anything. It just automatically comes from taking it. So again, the time factor for the physician is a no brainer. And then you have all of this data for your team to be able to bring patients in your door and hopefully turn them into treatment and which is what you’re, you know, looking for. You’re looking to try to help those people who have hearing loss. That’s our goal. You know, this almost brings the physician marketing to another level. Right, Exactly. You know, before you’re walking in with the papers that they never read, you got to get through that screening woman or guy or whoever it is. Yeah. Almost beat them over the head to get in there. This kind of offers a new procedure to, to make that particular primary care physician kind of stand out a little bit which gives them some differentiation for their practice as well. And and how cool is that? Not only for them, but for the, for the practice, for the audiology person. That builds a real relationship with that family practitioner. So now, okay, so this is all cool and it’s great, but now how do you become involved with this with Shoebox people? Now do I, I buy every one of the tablets and all and pay some sort of a fee or whatever to, to get this set up for the physicians in my city. How do I go about doing that? That’s what I would suggest. I mean, you know, yes, Shoebox is something that we can provide this tool for you in this scenario. We are suggesting that the, the hearing care provider is the one who purchases this tool and provides it to the physician. Because again, the, the hearing care provider is the one who has control of that database. They’re the ones who want that database because they’re looking for, I mean, if you want to call it lead generation referral, however you want to do it. They’re looking patients in their door in the audiology practice. That’s what they want. And again, you know, the more patients they can see, the more patients they can help. And again, if you’re in audiology or a hearing care provider, that is your goal is to help people with Hearing loss, that’s always been what we wanted to do. So yes, you would purchase that and then provide that. It is just such a phenomenal way to get, get these referrals that it’s kind of, it makes it a no brainer. It’s, it’s almost cost neutral if it pays for itself in no time kind of situation. So it’s a new and different, it’s a way to differentiate your audiology practice as well as for the primary care provider to differentiate their practice. And both, both the practices look like they’re just one little rung ahead of the dude up the street, you know, that kind of thing. So absolutely definitely makes you stand apart. And again, like I said, if, if you’re not going to do it, somebody’s going to do it. Competition. Know if I had advice to give to someone, I would say go for it because if you don’t do it, someone else is. Competition out there now is just growing all the time. And we know that patients listen to their doctors. I remember doing full comprehensive evals and you’re explaining every last little detail very thoroughly. I felt like I was doing and they would still like, well let me talk to my doctor. It’s like well, you know, the, the MarkeTrak has said people are eight times more likely to purchase products if indeed their physician sends them to you. So absolutely. So, so that’s kind of the kind of advantage that the practitioner is going to have, the audiology practice will have. And on the physician side they’re doing more in terms of screening for. Because hearing loss has a lot of interactions anymore with the dementia connection as well as the diabetic connection and some other connections that are comorbidities as well. So and so now the next question. I know we don’t want to talk cost, specific costs, but is this a from a practitioner’s point of view, where both of us come from, is this an expensive marketing thing or is it kind of a, kind of a relatively low cost one considering the benefits that the practice, both practices may obtain? Sure. Yes And I look at this as a marketing tool. I don’t look at it as a piece of equipment like an audiometer or something like that. Marketing has you, you should in my opinion, have a monthly marketing budget. So marketing is not something you pay for one time and it’s for life. You know, back in the day when we did newspaper ads you know that you didn’t buy one, you get one for life. Right? So I also remember the time we did yellow book ads, believe it or not. Yeah, I have those too. Good. Yeah, so, but those are ongoing costs. So this is something that is an ongoing. Because we are a subscription based company. I put that out there. I think it is a fantastic opportunity to, to be able to get things up front at a lower price and you’re paying the subscription. But again, marketing is a monthly, is a monthly cost and you should have this. And so in your marketing budget, when you can get something for, you know, less than 100 bucks a month and your return on investment on this on, for a yearly basis is probably obtained in the first couple of months. It will pay for your whole year. So again, you can get through that. That, that hockey person that runs the physician schedule. Yeah. They must have been trained at Fort Knox, I’m pretty sure. For Benning maybe too. Yeah. Right. So anyway, well you know, now Angela, I understand that, that you guys at Shoebox have an audiology online course for CEUs in this particular area. So can you tell us a little bit about that and what can people expect to learn from that if they tune into the AO course? Yeah, sure. So on April 22, I think it’s at noon Eastern time, we have a course Maximizing Referral, a collaborative approach to Hearing screening and primary care. And if they tune in, we’re going to basically talk about identifying the need for working with primary care physicians. Well discuss key strategies to discuss this option with primary care physicians and to incorporate this into their routine examinations. Also how to efficiently identify those patients who need that follow up care and how to increase those referrals into your audiology clinic. You know and, and I know you were probably suggesting this on when you were on the audiology and professional association side, but one of the things that’s always been a problem for me, and I’ve been in audiology a lot longer than I would like to admit. However we had all these people kind of way up here somewhere who were always telling us this is what you have to do this, doing this and this and this. And they might not have seen a patient in 20 years right here. Now the industry is finally taking advice from long term practitioners from many different settings that know colleagues from all over the place that they’re taking this advice and saying, okay oh, you think this is a good idea, let’s take this and work it up, up the chain to kind of facilitate some of the things that all of us really think so. So manufacturers now, whether it’s. Whether it’s Shoebox or whether it’s Widex or whether whoever it is, because of colleagues like yourself that have been in both places and there’s a number of us out there now that have done these things, but they’re listening to those individuals and then taking those things kind of up the chain, which I think is good on both sides. It’s good for the patients, it’s good for the industry, it’s good for the particular manufacturer and is fabulous for the patients. So. I totally agree. You know, I was always one of those ones who would try anything once, especially where marketing goes. I love marketing. I feel like it’s just you know, is a key to the success of my practice. I feel like And I was one of these ones who I would try you know, I’ve been on the movie theater screens, I’ve been on the shopping carts, I’ve been on calendars. I’ve even gave them local cheerleaders. I had T shirts made up with my logo on it and in the. Their mascot on the front and let them throw them out at basketball games and football games. I mean, anything to get your name out there. You do. And. And I feel like, you know, with this, it’s just such an easier way. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Those leads in much more productive. So you live and learn a little bit as you get older, I guess. Well, and I don’t necessarily think it’s just older. I think it’s just you have this, oh, this didn’t work. So I’m not going to do that now. Where this works and this works and this works. And And honestly, it’s refreshing to see Shoebox listening to colleagues that have been there and working up different situations facilitate this. I think this is a great idea. And and they have the right person, it sounds like, to run this program. So will you be conducting the the. The actual CEU evaluation CEU thing at ao? I will. Good. Yes. Well, I think for all of you out there that are This Week in Hearing Listeners I would say that you need to take a look at this particular program as one who’s We have two chapters in our new book with Brian Taylor and I on competition. We have a huge chapter with four or five authors coming from Grassroots on marketing. And this sounds like something we should have had in there as well, so. But today my guest has been Dr. Angela Morris the account manager and partnership liaison with Shoebox. Thank you very much Angela for giving us a little bit of an inkling and a little bit of an orientation to possibly a very new and interesting kind of marketing procedure that Shoebox will be discussing on April 22nd at Audiology Online. Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me. And just want to say one last thing. If anyone does want any more information on this they can go to our website at Shoebox.md And if they click on request, a quote or any, any other information they’ll be sent to their appropriate account manager and they’ love to follow up with them and just walk them through this if they have any other questions. Well thank you for being with us today at this week in hearing and this is a very interesting project and I think we should all make a point to be at this April 22nd AO presentation. Thanks again Angela for your participation with us. Thank you so much.