Thyroid Awareness Month is here! This month's blog explores the connection between hypothyroidism and the feet.
Are you suffering from any of these common foot conditions often associated with hypothyroidism?
If so, check your thyroid gland. Feet are sensitive and can indicate a problem occurring in other parts of the body.
Hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid is a condition that affects the entire body and may cause several symptoms such as depression, weight gain, and lower metabolism. The disease is caused by reduced thyroid hormone levels (thyroxine) in the body.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may suffer from hypothyroidism. Other signs of hypothyroidism include hair loss, dry skin, fatigue, constipation, muscle aches, and stiffness. The symptoms are often mistaken for other conditions such as menopause or chronic fatigue syndrome. Still, the problem is that hypothyroidism can lead to serious health problems if left untreated.
The most common foot conditions associated with Hypothyroidism are fungal infections. Fungus can affect any part of the body, but it is often more prevalent in moist areas, such as around the feet.
Fungal infections are caused by dermatophytes which attack dead skin cells. People with an under-active thyroid are more susceptible to fungal infections due to their decreased immunity.
The fungus most prevalent in the human body is Trichophyton rubrum which can cause tinea pedis (athlete's foot). This condition occurs when the skin of the feet becomes thickened and scaly; it can also cause blisters and burning.
People suffering from hypothyroidism are more likely to develop athlete’s foot due to decreased immunity, leading to skin problems.
Edema is a condition where fluid builds up in the lower legs and feet. Edema can lead to swelling of the ankles, making walking difficult as this condition restricts movement. People with edema have to elevate their legs as much as possible because it helps reduce fluid retention.
Fluid retention also causes pain in the lower extremities because of poor circulation. Additionally, people with hypothyroidism often experience skin dryness, making them more likely to suffer from edema than those without thyroid problems.
As well as difficulties walking and pain in the lower extremities, people suffering from edema may also notice itchy skin or even blisters on their feet if they have diabetes.
Hypothyroidism causes skin problems which can lead to cracked heels. The condition is often caused by a decrease in the skin's natural oils, usually produced by sebaceous glands.
Severe dryness, or hyperkeratosis, means that dead cells on the surface of the feet cannot be adequately replaced and accumulate, becoming thick, hard, and dry.
This is often accompanied by the formation of calluses or corns on the feet that are usually caused by repeated pressure (such as when wearing shoes).
People suffering from Hypothyroidism are more likely to suffer from cracked heels, fungal infections, and edema. These foot conditions can be avoided or relieved if the person suffering from Hypothyroidism follows an excellent skin-care routine, such as moisturizing their feet and wearing comfortable shoes.
It`s no secret that there are a lot of costs involved in running a Podiatric Medicine practice, which is why it is so important to take advantage of savings whenever possible. That is where tax code Section 179 comes into play.
Section 179 of the US tax code allows small businesses to deduct the total purchase price of eligible equipment and software purchased or financed during the tax year. This is advantageous for physicians because they will receive immediate tax relief for their equipment purchases. Section 179 allows businesses to write off up to $500,000 in equipment purchases or leases on qualified equipment.
To qualify for tax code Section 179, there are a few requirements that you must meet. Most capital equipment such as C3Tech`s printers, Saorsa`s Swift Machine, Tenvision`s Ultrasound Machine, The Remy Laser, or a PADnet Machine is deductible under Section 179. Keep in mind, the deduction is available for equipment that is used more than half the time for business purposes, and the amount of the deduction will be limited to the percent of the time the property is engaged for personal use. You can find more details on the official website of Section 179 HERE.
If you made a qualifying purchase in 2021 and you would like to optimize your tax-saving through Section 179, it is recommended to consult with a tax professional. A qualified tax professional will guide you through the best methods of taking advantage of this benefit, avoiding an audit by the IRS.
For more information, contact us at 401-424-1827!
November is Diabetes Awareness Month! This month we are reminded of the vital role Podiatric Physicians and Surgeons play in the management team of a diabetic patient. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 30 million Americans have diabetes. Studies have shown a decrease in lower limb amputations of up to 80% for those with diabetes that are treated by a Podiatric Physician. These patients are vulnerable to many troublesome conditions including Peripheral Arterial Disease, Diabetic Neuropathy, or Diabetic Wounds/Ulcers. Talar Medical proudly supports Foot & Ankle Specialists by providing discounts with an array of different vendors aimed at providing the best products to help you care for your diabetic patients.
If you have any questions on which wound products or services would be a good fit for your practice, call our Customer Care Team today and get a free consultation today!
Call now 401-424-1827!
Learn more about our vendors HERE.
It`s no secret that ankle sprains can be extremely uncomfortable. Most sprained ankles occur in the lateral ligaments on the outside of the ankle. Sprains can range from tiny tears that make up the ligament to complete tears through the tissue (Grade I, II, or III). If there is a complete tear of the ligaments, the ankle may become unstable after the initial injury phase passes. Over time, this instability can result in damage to the bones and cartilage of the ankle joint.
Most ankle sprains are initially treated using the RICE protocol. Rest the ankle by keeping the patient off it. Crutches can be helpful in most cases to help swelling and pain during the initial week.
Ice, compression, and elevation should be immediately performed to keep the swelling down. It can be use for 20 to 30 minutes, three or four times daily. Some sprains will require treatment in addition to the RICE protocol and medications.
Immobilization should be utilized during the early phase of healing. It is important to support your ankle and protect it from sudden movements.
For a Grade 2 sprain, a removable pneumatic walking boot or air stirrup type brace can provide support.
Grade 3 sprains require short leg cast or cast brace for 2 to 3 weeks.
In rare cases, surgery can be performed when an injury doesn`t heal or the ankle remains unstable after a long period of physical therapy and rehabilitative exercises. Surgery may be performed to repair a ligament that won`t heal or reconstruct a ligament with tissue from a nearby ligament or tendon.
From casting tape to walking boots, we have everything you need to supply your practice at the best price. If you are not a Talar Medical member, join now!
For more information about Ankle Sprains including a suggested treatment plan, recommended billing codes, and supportive videos, visit Talar University – an education resource available exclusively to Talar Medical members.
Now that we are over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, some practices may still be struggling with getting their patient load to where it was post pandemic. As fluctuations of COVID cases vary, so do best practices regarding rules and regulations.
So, what can you do to market your practice safely and effectively?
Consider your website your digital billboard. Now more than ever, patients are reviewing company websites to learn your COVID-19 protocols or any new information they need to know before their appointment. This is also a good opportunity to post any additional precautions your practice is taking. For example, if you have purchased a Purity Light as additional sanitization, let your patients know! Ease their mind that your practice is offering a safe environment for them to continue receiving their foot and ankle care. If you are interested in purchasing a Purity Light for your practice, you can find them on the Talar Medical Ordering portal now!
If you read our past blog “Grow Your Business by Making Reviews Part of Your Podiatry Marketing Plan” you learned that 97% of people read reviews for local business before working with them. Think of reviews as word-of-mouth marketing for your patients. It`s important to respond to both positive and negative reviews. The first step is to claim your listing. Every reputation platform has a different process for this so start small and claim websites that are impactful to your organization. Examples include Google, Healthgrade, or Yelp.
Which leads us to our next topic: ask patients for referrals! No really, it`s as simple as asking your patient if they could do you a favor and leave a Google review (or whichever platform you are trying to increase your rating). You can even take advantage of our patient engagement vendors such as Swell, Demandforce, or Weave. By using this type of service, you can automate emails or text messages to go straight to your patient as soon as the appointment ends. Each of our patient engagement vendors have many additional unique features. Call us today to find out which one would be a good fit for your practice!
If you don`t have a company blog, now is the time to start! There are so many benefits to consistently adding content to your website. Not only will you drive traffic to your website, but you will also build relationships with potential patients by becoming an authority on foot and ankle health. You can also repurpose blogs by posting them to your social media accounts.
Speaking of social media…if you aren`t posting to social media regularly you should start that too. Use social media as the voice of your practice. Post blogs, COVID-19 updates, and content that your audience will find interesting or useful. Watch your KPI`s and take notice of posts or topics that your followers are engaging with and do more of that. If you received a lot of comments/likes on your bunion post, perhaps you should write a blog, host a live event, or even a webinar speaking on the topic. Don`t forget your CTA (call to action). Always provide a phone number, website, or scheduling link so your potential patients know how to schedule an appointment with you.
Email marketing is great way to keep in touch in your patients. Our patient engagement vendors Swell, Demandforce, and Weave have a vast toolbox allowing you to stay at the top of your patients’ inbox and at the forefront of their mind. Send appointment reminders, Happy Birthday emails, newsletters, or other need-to-know information. Start a recall campaign and remind your diabetic patients they are due for their annual pair of shoes. Find out more about our patient engagements vendors HERE or give us a call to see which one would be a good fit for your practice.
Strengthen your patient experience, and by this, I mean customer service. Analyze your customer journey and find ways to optimize your customer service to make your practice stand out from the rest. By creating practice SOP`s you can ensure every patient is getting the best experience at every visit. Role playing with your staff can be a fun and effective way to compare exceptional customer service with bare minimum customer service.
Stay connected with your top referring physicians. If you aren`t field marketing as a safety precaution or state rules/guidelines prevents it, you can still maintain a good relationship with your top referring physicians without visiting their office. Give them a call and ask if they would like a digital referral form, provide them with your contact number/email in case they have any questions or issues. If you aren`t already, send referring physicians the office notes of the patients they send to you, so they are in the loop on their patients care. Accompany the office note with a handwritten thank-you note or card thanking them for their referral.
No-shows and late arrivals have a direct impact on productivity, efficiency, and the quality of care that your practice can deliver. Whether your practice has automated appointment reminders set up or not, it’s not uncommon to miss opportunities when sending out reminders.
If you want to boost revenue and reduce no-show appointments, avoid these 7 common appointment reminder mistakes, plus learn quick ways to fix them.
On average, 28% of medical practices that manually manage appointment reminders spend multiple hours a day just calling patients. Conversely, 87% of practices with automated reminders can handle an entire day’s worth of reminders in less than an hour. Automated reminders not only save your practice time, but they are also the most reliable tool to reduce no-show appointments and help patients arrive on time.
Most patients prefer to communicate via text messages and are more responsive to text reminders. The best way to ensure appointment attendance is to give patients multiple options to receive appointment reminders and to set up a fallback reminder to ensure patients never miss a reminder message.
Another big appointment reminder pitfall is not setting up a secondary reminder method. Let’s say that you have opted to send your patients text reminders. If a patient has chosen to opt out of receiving text messages, they won’t receive your reminder. With Fallback Reminders, if a patient opts out of text reminders, the selected fallback reminder method, either email or voice, will automatically kick in.
Many practices send out generic reminders that simply include the patient’s name, date, and time of the appointment. Of course, this information is necessary for appointment reminders, but it won’t help your reminders stand out. Email reminders give practices the ability to include personalized images, text, links, and more! These personal touches can go a long way towards capturing the attention of your patients.
Fortunately, lost revenue due to appointment no-shows is easily avoidable! By implementing a smart appointment reminder strategy, your practice can reduce no-shows and boost revenue. Download our free guide today to learn about common appointment reminder mistakes, plus learn how to fix them!
About Demandforce
Demandforce helps medical practices automate front office tasks and streamline patient communications with an all-in-one solution. From automated appointment reminders to robust reputation management, only Demandforce uniquely combines all the features and functionality a practice needs to grow, in one place. For more information, or to see a demo, visit www.demandforce.com.
Managing patient information, sending well-timed review invites and responses, and tracking their impact can quickly turn into a full-time job. You can use a review-gathering tool like Swell Review to automate most aspects of the process.
According to a report by Spiegel Research, reviews not only drive more traffic to your website, but displaying reviews on your website can help you increase conversion by as much as 270%. That’s huge.
Learn more about why reviews matter here.
Another hidden benefit of reviews is in the feedback they offer, which should help you uncover ways to improve your facilities, services, and staff training, leading to more great reviews and more loyal patients. Once the process is in motion, reviews create a virtually maintenance-free growth machine for your practice. With a little up-front effort and the right tools, it does become free podiatry advertising.
Swell helps local podiatry practices grow by making patient engagement painless. With Swell, you can automatically gather hundreds of great reviews, reply to them, and view a clean dashboard with all your ratings in one place. Swell also helps practices streamline text, email, and webchat messages and collect valuable customer feedback. With Swell, you’ll boost your practice’s online presence, gain new patients, and maintain that momentum for future growth.
The glowing reviews are out there waiting. Sign up for a free demo to start capturing them.
Gaining a top spot in online search results is one of the biggest possible marketing wins for your podiatry practice. And increasing your online reviews is one of the quickest ways to improve your online presence.
While some folks call reviews “free podiatry advertising,” the truth is that they do take some time and effort to generate. (In marketing, this is known as “earned media”—you have to work for it, but you don’t have to pay to play.) Many practices have found that a small investment in the right review-gathering tools is a no-brainer, as they can save tons of time and yield huge results.
Whether you decide to walk the path alone or team up with a podiatry practice growth partner, this article will help you understand how to use reviews to make your practice more visible online. We’ll cover:
- Why reviews matter
- Why you should embrace a few negative reviews
- An intro to gathering more reviews
Let’s jump in.
Reviews determine whether or not someone will choose your podiatry practice. It’s that simple. Odds are you’re a frequent reader of reviews—when hiring a plumber, choosing a brunch spot, buying a new pair of running shoes, etc. Most people are. Here’s an eye-opening stat:
Reviews = Appointments
A report by BIA/Kelsey and ConStat revealed that 97 percent of people read reviews for local businesses before working with them. 90% of people who read online reviews before purchasing said that positive reviews helped sway their decision.
Low Review Scores = No New Podiatry Patients
This isn’t just about having reviews. Your overall review score must be solid. According to SearchEngineLand, 87% of people won’t work with a business that has a 1 or 2-star rating. (If your score is that low, keep reading.)
More Stars = More Revenue
Harvard Business School reports that improving your review score by a single star can increase your revenue by 5-9%. (But as you’ll read next, there is such a thing as too many 5-star reviews.)
Your reviews are your reputation and your search ranking. Don’t let your happy patients walk away without adding their proverbial two cents to your marketing machine. Before we look at how, let’s bust a few review myths.
According to a study by Spiegel Research Center, people are skeptical of businesses that have a full 5-star-rating. Patients actually see practices with a few negative reviews as more trustworthy (it’s evidence that you’re not suppressing reviews or gaming the system), and 82% of people will read them, according to research by Power Reviews.
Not only is the occasional bad review a sign of authenticity, it’s an opportunity for you to show off your bedside manner with a compassionate and diplomatic response. 89% of consumers will read your practice’s response to reviews according to BrightLocal. Providing excellent service goes a long way to boost a prospective patient’s perception of you.
Of Course, Sometimes Bad Reviews Are Just... Bad
There will always be cases where customers leave bad reviews about insignificant things, and there are rare cases where people use reviews to attack a business based on politics or misinformation. These things happen. But that 82% of people who are reading your negative reviews? They’re likely to see these reviews for what they are. And more often, negative reviews are actually good insight into ways you can improve your practice.
The best thing to do with negative reviews once you’ve responded? Bury them with a sea of positive ones. by 1. Gathering more reviews. 2. Targeting specific review platforms. And 3. Requesting reviews, the right way. Want the details on doing this? Join us next month for The 3 Steps of Review-Based Marketing for Podiatry Practices.
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To prove how good Smooth AF is, we are willing to trade you $20 for up to $240 worth of Smooth AF product.
Podiatrists across the country are using Smooth AF wipes in their practice and selling them to their patients for up to $20 per box.
On your first order only, we will trade you $20 to cover shipping and we will send you a case of twelve 14-count boxes of Smooth AF Single Packets.
Your patients will love you, your costs will go down, you will save time, and your bottom-line will improve!
This offer is provided exclusively to Talar Medical members! Follow these simple steps to order:
Sponsored by: Talar Medical
Did you know your feet could be giving you clues regarding the health of your heart? Your feet are located in the lowest part of your body and if your heart has weakened your feet could be letting you know! Let`s discuss what these signs are and what they could mean.
PAD
One of the more serious conditions your feet could be communicating to you is PAD or Peripheral Arterial Disease. According to the American Heart Association PAD is a condition when plaque restricts or blocks blood flow to the arterial arteries, reducing blood flow. Without proper circulation organs and tissues that require adequate blood flow could be damaged. If left untreated PAD could be a precursor to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis occurs when fatty deposits buildup in arteries causing vascular inflammation and blood clots. Both conditions increase the risk for a stroke or heart attack.
If you experience these symptoms you may be at risk for PAD
The good news is there are simple tests that can be done to diagnose PAD.
Ankle-brachial index (ABI) is one of the most popular tests used to diagnose PAD. This non-invasive test involves using blood pressure cuffs to compare the blood pressure of the arm to the blood pressure of the ankle. Watch our recent #TalarTuesday episode that focuses on Padnet from our trusted Talar vendor partner, Biomedix. Watch HERE!
An angiography is a contrasting imaging exam that detects blockages in arteries.
Similar to angiography, an ultrasound uses sound waves to create images that can also detect artery blockages.
Typically, PAD can be managed by making simple lifestyle changes. Eating a well balanced diet, regular exercising, and avoiding tobacco use are all great ways to manage PAD and prevent PAD, especially if you have a family history of heart disease.
PAD can be life threatening so it is important to visit a Podiatric Physician to receive the proper diagnosis and begin a treatment plan