How to use a Neuropatholator System.
or
Patient Motivation at the Speed of Sight.
by Bruce Goldsmith

The Goal: Effortlessly securing your patient’s commitment.

Effective patient education will result in your patient’s faithful adherence to the treatment program you design and will also stimulate referrals through increased comprehension of chiropractic. Fast, dramatic patient education is more effective and fun. Learn how simple it can really be.

Approximately 90% of all learning is through the Eyes, Ears, and Skin. Put it all together into a fulfilling learning experience with the following simple procedure.

Feeling - Place your hands on your patient’s back. Ideally, you should have your patient directly in front of your Neuropatholator® chart. You or your patient should press the appropriate spinal switches near the Autonomic Nervous System, and simultaneously move your hand across your patient’s back from their subluxation along the appropriate nerve pathway.

The human contact and the action of pressing the switch (simulating nerve pressure) will reinforce the experience. Example: (Place your hand on T1, and as the lights flash along the nerve pathway, move your hand from T1, across the upper scapula and shoulder and down the arm to the fingertips.)

Hearing - Explain how important proper nerve supply is for health. Point to the brain and trace your finger down the spine as you explain how the brain generates the body’s electricity and it sends it down and out to the entire body using the ‘wires’ called nerves.

Seeing - Their eyes will be drawn to the throbbing yellow nerves representing their specific complaint. Finally, they SEE how this is consistent with the X-ray findings and their spinal cause (the subluxation). The flashing viscera on the Autonomic Nervous System demonstrates how these organ(s) and/or gland(s) can become affected by prolonged decreased nerve supply.

Through this demonstration, your patient is FEELING your hand, HEARING your explanation, and SEEING their appropriate correlations and complaints. You are utilizing three of the major senses, and thereby permanently fixing the relevant associations in your patient’s mind, permanently and indelibly. This is called ‘anchoring an experience’. When you show them which button to push you add the 4th dimension of DOING to the process.

Consider the following applications:

Technique #1 The Consultation
During the Consultation, use the Neuropatholator to clarify that you can visually describe and understand their symptomatic complaint. Don’t discuss specific vertebral levels yet, just show symptoms that they can relate to. The lights demonstrate that their condition may be the result of a spinal problem, and can only be really verified through a thorough exam and the judicious use of “pictures” (X-rays) to see if their condition will respond to chiropractic care.

Technique #2 The Exam
A highly effective use of the Neuropatholators is in the Exam Room. Here you can play touch and tell. When you locate a tender spot along the spine, use the Neuropatholator to clarify how that segment is responsible for their complaint, even though their pain may be far down the nerve pathway from the cause. Before seeing the Neuropatholator, this distant symptomology may have appeared to be totally unrelated to the spinal tenderness and misalignment. When used during the Exam, the Neuropatholator will confirm your findings visually and immediately.

Technique #3 The Report of Findings
The following script is an example of how the Report of Findings can develop the proper Doctor/patient rapport.

3-1. Review their needs. For instance: Their complaint; the period of time they’ve been in pain; the cause as they believe it happened; what courses of treatment they’ve already tried; and what their level of satisfaction was with those past treatments. “Are you here for maximum permanent improvement or merely symptom relief?”

3-2. Assure your patient by telling them that first you’ll explain a little bit about how their body works.
Show them X-rays of good and bad spinal segments. Explain that this will help them understand what a structural problem looks like when they see their own X-rays.

Help them identify their X-ray (point to personal landmarks such as their nameplate, dental work, surgical clamps, etc.). Next point out those examples you see of healthy areas of their spine. As you demonstrate where they have good disc spacing, no porosity of bones, and no fractures, they’ll quickly scan the rest for problems.

3-3. To further help them grasp the image of how their spinal column appears, and how (why) it is dysfunctioning, you should use a plastic spine model that clearly shows the discs and nerves. It is preferable if your spine sample also includes an example of a “disc-herniation”, degeneration, and possibly a laminectomy. Distort the spine to represent your patient’s type of problem. This is very useful because it takes the 2-dimensional X-ray and brings the concept to life. Show how the mobility of the spinal segment is restricted, and how this effects the nerve roots. Show the narrowing of the intervertebral foramen, and explain how swelling and natural splinting of the soft tissues in the region further impinge the spinal nerve root.

3-4. At this point the Neuropatholator is the best chart to bring the whole picture into focus. “This is how your Nerve System works: (bring their attention to the Spinal Nerve chart and place your hand on their skull). Here is the brain, protected by your skull. It is connected to the rest of the body by the Spinal Cord which exits from the skull through a hole about this large. (Use fingers to show size of foramen magnum.) (As you run your hand lightly down their spine, say) And the Spinal Cord runs down the center of each spinal bone (vertebra) with branches that exit between each pair of vertebra to all parts of the body. These correspond to the nerves I showed you on the plastic spine model. Remember how they can become impinged by a subluxation? Well, in your case the nerve (or area) that is affected, is right here.” (Press the corresponding switch on the Neuropatholator to show how certain organs also rely on that spinal segment for their nerve communication, and hence, their proper function. Your patient will immediately see their pain complaint on the Spinal Nerve portion of the chart as the Autonomic Nervous System helps them understand the seriousness of their problem. This is how you get them to make a committment to health. Also, don’t forget to discuss subluxation degeneration, that’s why the X-rays are there on the Neuropatholator.)

3-5. Discuss your Phases of Care:
• Relieve the pain as quickly as possible! Adjust the Subluxation.
• Next strengthen the muscles and rehabilitate the disc.
• Restore the nerves to their proper function.
• Stabilize the spinal integrity.
• Maintain the level of maximum improvement.
• Prevent future occurances and “dis-ease”.

Assure your patient that, “I want to relieve your pain as quickly as possible while getting you out of danger as soon as we can. Of course, I can’t promise any particular time-frame or final outcome, but I’ve successfully treated others with similar problems. As a result, I’ve learned that it usually takes a minimum of ........ visits to do this if you come in at least ....... times per week in the beginning.” Get their committment to that schedule and their cooperation with your recommendations for the fastest recovery.

Explain that, “This program may include certain therapies, and the length of each visit initially will be approximately ...... minutes. Fair enough?”

“Following a favorable progress examination in about ...... weeks we will probably be able to reduce your frequency of visits.”

“This is a program designed to not only address your immediate need for relief but to bring this potentially dangerous problem under maximum control. Don’t forget that consequences of symptomatic care could lead to possible dysfunction of certain organs and glands. Remember those flashing lights. A more permanent approach to your problem is what you really want - Right?”

Technique #4 Spousal Commitment
This is really an adjunct to the ROF technique. It also could come under one of the referral headings. Having the spouse at the ROF is extremely important because, frequently they are the ones to interfere with the treatment plan. This happens because they don’t understand the critical aspects of the program or that pains are only symptoms, not indicators of correction. When they see their loved-one’s problem so clearly demonstrated, they are far more supportive of the prescribed care.

Often you can convert them to become patients by demonstrating on your Neuropatholator some of their problems and following it up with a comment like, “When you see the type of progress your wife / husband is making, would you consider chiropractic for your health, also?”

Technique #5 The Daily Visit
Another benefit when using the Neuropatholator is the very exciting aspect of patient participation. It is precisely this ability that makes the Neuropatholator superior to all paper charts, slide shows and video tape series. In those modes of education there is only a passive involvement by the patient, and though being educated about Chiropractic generally, they are frequently being subjected to information that is irrelevant to their case or present concern. With the Neuropatholator in your Adjustment Room, you can direct your patient to press the appropriate switch on the lighted chart and thus illustrate the applied pressure on the Nerve System. They will be instantly, visually rewarded and educated to the ramifications of that subluxation. When they request to discontinue treatments, quickly use the Neuropatholator to show the visceral consequences. If appropriate, suggest that at the next visit you’ll examine them to monitor progress and alter their treatment schedule as their improvement warrants.

Referrals, the core of a growing practice.

Technique #6 Referrals #1
As patients feel better, they may ask questions regarding problems that their friends and relatives are experiencing. They may not ask these questions directly however, for instance, if the Neuropatholator is in a location where the patient can press the buttons, they may ask you, “Does this flashing mean you can help people with leg pain” (or any other area the Neuropatholator demonstrates that is different from their own problem). Your first response should be, “Why, do you know someone with that complaint?” If they say yes, ask, “Where does ....... live, because maybe I can recommend a Chiropractor in their area.” This way you are only indirectly asking for the referral. If they say the person is local, you might want to offer a complimentary screening or exam as a courtesy to them. Such an offer should always contain a time limit.

Technique #7 Referrals #2
Make sure that after a few visits (especially if you give periodic mini-reports) you use the Neuropatholator again to review how your treatment plan of adjustments is achieving their desired results. Then, referring to the Family Health History Questionnaire you probably had them fill out, begin educating them on how chiropractic may help their brother, or father, etc.

Technique #8 Referrals #3
This technique could be called, “Teaching old Bird Dogs New Tricks.” Bird Dog is a term used to describe a patient personality that shares their story and Doctor with all of their friends. They’ll send you the most referrals, but it’ll taper off after awhile. Here’s how you reactivate them the first month you have your new Neuropatholator.
“Hi Nancy. I want you to know that you’ve been a model patient. Not only have you followed through, you’ve also gotten great results and on top of that, you’ve referred a lot of new patients into my office. We really appreciate you for that.
“Because you have such a good grasp of what we do here, I’d like to ask your opinion about a new chart system I got recently. OK?

“When you came in you had a spinal problem here (press button). Would these lights have helped you better understand your problem as a new patient?

“Can you see how these problems might also affect organs and how this could be a serious problem if it’s not corrected as thoroughly as possible?”

Nancy will be thrilled to be asked her opinion and amazed at the clarity of the demonstration. She’ll begin “talking-up” your practice again.

---------
Always thank them for any referrals they are responsible for, and share with them the benefits their friends have realized by coming into the office.

Since the concepts of chiropractic become so dynamically alive for the patient when you use Neuropatholators, it is much easier for them to explain your services to others, and thus help your practice to grow.

Technique #9 The Spinal Screening
Do you want to spread your name fast? Set up a Spinal Screening in a Mall, School, Fair, or Trade Show. Make sure that you use some type of screening tool to locate and demonstrate spinal concerns. That’s not enough by itself though, you need to be able to rapidly Report the findings in a memorable and motivating way. What could be better than lighting up their complaints. Making the appointment for a more thorough examination at your office is much simplier after this dynamic experience. Neuropatholators are an amazing attention grabber. While you’re “reporting” to one person, others will listen and learn as well.

Technique #10 The Spinal Health Lecture
When you are speaking to groups of patients and prospective patients you should use exciting props. Along with the Spinal Health Orientation® Flip Chart by Visual Odyssey, the Neuropatholator is the most exciting prop you can demonstrate.
Multiply yourself with the “group consultation” - Imagine how the above explanations can also be expanded into a remarkably effective lay lecture. When there is pressure placed on a nerve, (push a switch) there is numbness or searing pain shooting along the yellow nerve pathways of the on the left. Have them note that that same nerve pressure might also affect certain organs (although the visceral nerve network is quite complex, the chart represents the generalized areas of sympathetic nerve innervation). Now, while releasing the switch, show how chiropractic removes the pressure on the Nerve Root and permits the brain and affected area to communicate more freely, thereby allowing health to be restored from within.

----------------------------------------

The Neuropatholator wall chart represents a 30 year legacy of instant patient education. It has also been the stepping stone for the amazing Neuropatholator software that can educate a little or a lot, at ANY or EVERY VISIT, for an effortless yet thorough, automated 40 visit Patient Motivation Program, dynamic ROF or a stunning patient workshop.

Neuropatholator is a registered trademark of Visual Odyssey, Inc. (800)5412-4449

Click here to return to the Neuropatholator page.