During my year as ACCAI president, one of my goals is to promote the value of allergists’ expertise to other health care professionals. When their patients’ asthma and allergy symptoms are persistent, HCPs can be assured that a referral to a two- to three-year fellowship-trained allergist will provide optimal care.
The College recently launched a campaign to NPs and PAs in primary care. I’m excited about this outreach! We’re getting the word out that board-certified allergists, unlike other physicians who may offer allergy services, are specially trained to find the source of allergies, asthma, and related symptoms and to provide effective, whole-body treatment. The campaign’s tagline is “Allergists: Your Partners in Patient Care” and we’re using a microsite, social media ads and information in online publications that serve NP/PA communities to promote the campaign. Communication efforts emphasize the value of allergists and other HCPs working together to improve the health of those who suffer with asthma or allergies.
Referrals are an essential part of our practices. What can you do to help promote our Partners in Care effort?
- Provide a link to the microsite on your practice’s website.
- Promote it on social media. The College has made it easy for you! Use ready-made social media images and posts to reach your colleagues in health care. Or visit the microsite on your phone and share it. Look for the social media icons to easily share the site in a tweet or post.
- Send an email. If you already have a professional relationship with NP/PAs, consider sending them an email letting them know we have special website tailored for them that provides information on when to refer patients. Make sure to include the microsite’s link in your email.
With a little effort, we can cement a partnership with NPs and PAs so patients can get relief. And later this year, we’ll be expanding our outreach with a large-scale digital campaign to primary care physicians. This will include commercials, social media content and much more. I hope you’ll find these efforts to be beneficial to show our value to physicians who may not have had exposure to us during training and don’t realize that allergy is our focus and not just another ancillary service in our practice. As always, the College is on a mission to help patients “Find an Allergist, Find Relief.”
