In this digital world, social media platforms are part and parcel of our life. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and so forth have become favorites with diverse business entities as these provide immense opportunities for the growth of any industry sector, including healthcare. At the same time, each of these platforms serves different purposes and choosing the right one among them is necessary. An organic SEO company that provides healthcare digital marketing services can help you in choosing the right platforms that can meet your needs.
Wondering how social media platforms can help in the growth of the healthcare sector? Well, you can perform various activities on social media platforms to invite the attention of your target audience. These include:
Conducting healthcare social media campaigns
Uploading videos and photos
Creating posts for creating awareness
Going live on social media
Before going on to the tips to choose the right social media platform, let’s take a look at the popular social media platforms.
Popular Social Media Platforms
A. Facebook
Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms among all. It not only connects people but is also a hub for promoting business. Thus, it has become the favorite platform for healthcare providers as well. Through Facebook, they can provide information, photos, videos and so forth to make the target audience aware of their facilities as well as the services they are providing in their healthcare center. However, the major advantage of the Facebook platform is that there is a space for visitors to leave their reviews, feedback and ratings which help service providers to improve their future services.
Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform where you can share videos and photos related to your service, facilities, treatment results and so on. It is estimated that almost 800 million people are using Instagram on daily basis. Thus, it is a great platform for healthcare providers to attract the attention of patients. To grab the attention of the target audience, you can make use of certain techniques like hashtags, live interactions, promoting upcoming events, creating information posts, and so on. Posting something on a daily basis would help you to retain your followers.
It is the best B2B social media platform where you can expand your network. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn is a professional platform where healthcare providers can share medical news and articles directly with their colleagues in a formal manner. The information ranges from new discoveries to general health awareness. At the same time, like other social media platforms, LinkedIn also connects people but in a professional way. So, you can surf and hire appropriate candidates from LinkedIn if you have a vacancy in your firm.
Twitter is the platform for people who want information in capsule form. On Twitter, information is shared in direct-to-the-point format. Thus, the users would convey information within a few words or sentences that help in saving a lot of time and effort for the readers. It is an ideal platform for doctors as well as they have a busy schedules. The major advantage of using Twitter in the healthcare sector is that it can drive organic traffic to your website.
Know your audience: Before choosing a suitable platform, the primary task is to understand your audience. Each business has its own audience, and the taste for using social media differs from person to person. Choose a platform that most of your target audience prefers to engage within their leisure time.
Understand the purpose of social media: Each social media platform serves different purposes. For instance, the purpose of Instagram is to convey messages through photos and video, while the purpose of Twitter is to deliver messages in a concise format. Thus, understanding the purpose of social media is important to meet the purpose of your activities.
Know the type of content you intend to share: Each social media platform supports different kinds of content. For instance, you can share long-form content on Facebook, while on Twitter you are allowed to post information only in a concise form. On the other hand, LinkedIn supports end-to-end professional posts. Thus, the nature of your post plays a vital role when selecting a social media platform.
Leave space for asking questions: Leave space on your social media page for accepting patient queries and providing clear answers. If you spare some time to clear their doubts, then it might help you to create a healthy relationship between you and your patients. In addition, you can also create an impression that you are concerned about your patients’ well-being.
Welcome customer feedback: It is important to welcome positive and negative feedback from your patients. Thus, leave a space for your patients to drop their feedback. This helps to improve your future services. Some platforms like Facebook provide space for visitors to leave their feedback, comments as well as ratings on the wall of commercial social media pages.
Maintain consistency: Consistency is an important factor while handling a social media account. Post and update information to get the attention of your followers. Consistency is the key factor for the success of any social media activity.
Ensure the platform is apt for achieving your marketing goals: At the end of the day, you are using social media as a tool to meet your marketing goals. Sometimes, you may finalize a platform that you might feel is easy to handle. However, as marketing your services is your primary goal, you should revisit your plan frequently and check whether it is working or not. You can even access your competitors’ social media activities, adopt some positive factors and change them to suit your own marketing goals.
Social media is a major dais to showcase your products, services, and solutions. These platforms provide exposure to your business and help increase credibility. To ensure effective social media marketing services, businesses can rely on a good SEO outsourcing company that provides healthcare digital marketing services.
While the healthcare industry is one of the highest grossing industry globally, it is yet to fully utilize its digital marketing potential. This is due to a lack of understanding of the value proposition offered by digital marketing. Digital marketing in healthcare can be used to drive traffic to your website, build reputation, boost credibility, and showcase your medical expertise. Using these digital marketing techniques doctors can reach their target audience and expand their practice. Therefore, healthcare organizations can invest in a healthcare digital marketing agency to drive more traffic, showcase their services to the digital world, grow beyond their locality, and generate more sales and revenue.
Consumers are now using the internet to look for information regarding health issues. According to Google Health Vice President David Feinberg, MD, as The Telegraph reports, an estimated 7 percent of Google’s daily searches are health-related and Google’s total daily health-related searches amount to 70,000 each minute. Similarly, majority of the patients book their appointments online, leave reviews online etc.
How digital marketing helps healthcare organizations
Digital marketing helps you to track your potential patient’s buying behavior, tastes and preferences, and thereby provide better customer experience.
Digital marketing lets you engage your potential patients with your informative content.
Digital marketing allows healthcare organizations to segment campaigns to target local, suburban and urban areas that makes it easier for the target audience to reach you.
The use of mobile phones is rising rapidly every year and mobile phones create a new and improved way for healthcare businesses to meet consumers online.
Using email marketing and social media marketing, healthcare organizations can connect with the potential patients.
Tips to boost your sales with digital marketing
Get more potential patients with content marketing: Majority of the visitors comes from the web search, and Google gets many queries that are related to healthcare. So, providing wellness or healthcare related information that people are looking for can bring more patients to the website. Content marketing is a popular digital marketing strategy, especially for the healthcare industry. As per CMI 2019 B2B Content Marketing report, 62% of B2B marketers say they have been more successful with content marketing. High quality content along with the proper marketing strategy can get more potential patients to your content and to your website. So, invest time and resources in developing blogs, case studies or any other form of content that will let your potential patients know about the services that you offer and your expertise.
Know your customers: Developing a deep understanding of healthcare consumers is essential for any healthcare organization. Adapt to customer needs to stay successful and provide great healthcare services or products. Healthcare clients are different from other customers. So, understand and give them what they are looking for so you can grab their attention. This helps to build trust in your potential patients.
Understand buyer’s organizational chart: This point is applicable for healthcare businesses such as pharmaceutical companies. Small clinics often have a single decision maker who decides to buy any product. But for big hospitals, you will have a buying group or a purchasing department. Take time to map out how each client makes their purchase and identify everybody involved in the process. Each and every client in healthcare has a different purchasing style. Get their purchasing information with contacts and networking within the organization as much as possible, and this helps to expand your influence.
Focus on your clients: Serving your customers is the good rule of thumb for any business. Make sure to improve your relationship with your clients in the long run. It is important that you learn how to effectively communicate with each of these individuals. Think about what to provide to ensure that they receive better, quicker, or more cost-effective care. If you want to become a better salesperson for your company and your clients, you need to write a convincing narrative about your company, as well.
Implement social media marketing: One of the best ways to promote your business is through social media platforms. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are very popular and almost everyone has more than one social media account. Post consistently on social media to connect with the patients. The patients can also leave their reviews on social media. Social media marketing can help you thrive as a healthcare entity and be on the top of your sales game at all times.
Choose Account-based Approach: Account-based approach helps you in increasing the number of your sales. This approach focuses on identifying the most influential players in the organization and communicating with them from a position of authority and expertise. Salespeople need more information and resources to help them engage prospects at critical moments in their buying process. Account-based selling is a proven strategy for gaining access to key decision makers within an organization so that you can reach your customers when they are ready to buy.
Use AI and Big data analytics: Big data analytics in medicine and healthcare integrates analysis of several scientific areas such as bioinformatics, medical imaging, sensor informatics, medical informatics, and health informatics. It helps to improve the quality of care and increases the accuracy of patient diagnosis. Data from various sources is integrated to analyze the current state of health care. Similarly, AI has the ability to gather patient insights, leading to predictive analysis. Getting patient insights helps the healthcare ecosystem discover key areas of patient care that require improvement.
Digital marketing provides you with a wide array of options for promoting and advertising your healthcare practice or business in a very modern way. Healthcare digital marketing is much more than just having a website, it is about having the right mix of digital channels that can enable you to connect with your customers. Using the right digital marketing strategies with the help of a medical SEO company, you can easily reach millions of people around the world, get more customers, and generate more sales and revenue.
Need help with search engine optimization, content writing services, and web design services? Our team at MedResponsive can help!
Call us at (800) 941-5527 and schedule a FREE consultation with our Senior Solutions Manager.
Performance planner is still new to the business sector, but it’s already helping to streamline Google Ads accounts for a great deal of businesses. Planner makes it easier for companies to organize their data and give more team members access to account information thus helping to boost efficiency and collaboration. It is a relatively new way to manage your Google Ads campaigns, make better business decisions, and increase ROI. So, if you want to sort out your advertising plan, you can reach out to digital marketing services in New York.
Google Ads Performance planner is a free Google Ads tool that helps to manage an advertising plan. It helps with making forecast model for one or more campaigns at a time. Performance Planner helps you improve your ad’s click-through rate, conversion rates, or other metrics and also suggests what changes to make to get better results from your campaign. It analyses data about your ad groups and their target audiences and historical data from similar campaigns to estimate what those groups should be worth over the next few months. Then it compares these estimates with actual results to give you a forecast of a campaign’s performance.
How Performance Planner Helps Businesses
Detailed forecast: This is an excellent tool if you want your business and its ads campaign strategy to be more organized and structured. Performance planner provides you detailed reports of your ad campaign and how its performance can be improved over time. Businesses can create an action plan depending on the financial forecast of future months or quarters given by the planner.
Good conversion rate: With accurate reports, businesses will have a clear idea about where to spend their money so that there will be a better performance for the money invested. This will help you increase the conversion rate with a similar budget by increasing targeting and placement in specific channels based on the data.
Dashboard with clear data: The Performance planner’s before and after metric comparison table is an excellent way of seeing the changes that Google has suggested for your ad campaigns. You can also compare the spending and the key performance indicators of existing and planned campaigns side by side. This helps to gain valuable business insights instead of simply looking at the data.
Optimization of keywords: Keywords play a significant role in your campaign, and it can either make or break your campaign. Google Ads Performance Planner helps you to differentiate between performing and under performing keywords. This helps businesses to change their strategy for maximum conversions.
New Updates in Google Ads Performance Planner
Now that you have a clear understanding of what Performance Planner is and how it helps businesses, let us now look at some latest updates on Google Performance planner.
Google’s Performance planner is getting four updates with the aim of helping users plan multiple campaigns and make informed changes. These updates will give more capabilities to the tool. So, here are the latest updates on Google Ads Performance Planner:
Add more campaigns: Using past performance or adding manual forecasts across your whole account, your previous ineligible campaigns can now be added to your plan which includes old campaigns that have been deleted or have been running for less than 10 days, or are in a draft state.
Know the recommendations: Google will offer more detailed recommendations in a new column under the title “suggested changes.”
Secondary metrics: This helps understand the effect of changes to your campaigns beyond the key metrics. For instance, if you create a strategy to maximize conversions, you can consider adding a column that shows changes to clicks.
Choose a time range: Use a historical conversion rate for a specific time range to get a more accurate estimate of what to expect for the date range you’re using in your plan.
Performance Planner can be used yearly, quarterly, monthly or weekly. But Google recommends using it weekly to provide valuable insights that business marketers can use to set up their campaigns. It helps to generate accurate predictions so that businesses can identify the market trends and new opportunities to stay ahead of the competitors.
Performance Planner is a free tool that is designed to optimize your budget and ad spend over multiple campaigns. Businesses can reach out to a reliable PPC marketing agency that can assist with setting up Performance Planner so as to gain valuable business insight and grow their business.
Need help with search engine optimization, content writing services, PPC services, and web design services? Our team at MedResponsive can help!Call us at (800) 941-5527 and schedule a FREE consultation with our Senior Solutions Manager.
Social media is the one of the best ways to reach out to potential patients. Many plastic surgeons are investing in social media marketing to engage with more potential patients. Having a strong presence on popular social media channels allows people to find the plastic surgeons, check on their previous work, and communicate about the procedures and their outcomes. So, social media is an excellent platform if you want to grow your plastic surgery practice, gain new clients, retain your existing clients, educate them about your services, provide them offers etc. Associate with a reliable provider of healthcare digital marketing services to promote your plastic surgery practice on social media channels, showcase your work, post content consistently to engage with target audience etc.
According to a study conducted by PubMed, out of 1000 respondents, 28.2 percent of respondents used social media in their practice, while 46.7 percent used it in their personal life. In the coming years, the number of plastic surgeons using social media to promote their medical practice is expected to increase. Today, when you scroll through social media apps, there are thousands of posts that show body transformation after plastic surgery, smile correction, glimpse of the procedure etc. Social media channels such as Instagram and TikTok focus on visual content more than written content and plastic surgeons are filling the feeds with before and after images of cosmetic procedures, videos of clients etc. This has made a significant impact among the people. A survey of Facial Plastic surgeons found that 55 percent of surgeons reported seeing patients who requested to improve their appearance in selfies. This trend is known as “Snapchat Dysmorphia”. This is a psychological phenomenon of patients where they bring filtered selfies to their surgeons to show the desired surgical changes they want to achieve. This shows that social media presence increases engagement between the plastic surgeon and the potential patients.
But Why Is It Worrying?
Although social media is an effective marketing tool, there are some risks involved in plastic surgeons using social media. Today, with the Internet and advanced technology, potential patients can openly communicate with plastic surgeons and even schedule a consultation online. But this open communication, the nature of technology, the speed and magnitude by which communications occur can sometime go wrong.
Source: miaaesthetics.com
Recently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons published “Guiding Principles: Online Communications for Plastic Surgeons” to address many of these unfortunate situations. With all these latest technologies and social media apps, it is quite natural for both patients and plastic surgeons to connect well, but there exist many concerns like:
Safeguards that should be considered when engaging with patients online
Is there a need for difference in place when it comes to communicating with new clients?
Things to consider when staff engage in e-mail communication with patients or manage the practice on social media
To ensure the confidentiality of the patients, all you need is proper documentation, and be HIPAA compliant. This is useful in case of any legal proceedings.
As stated earlier, social media platforms give importance to visual content like posts, images, videos, short videos etc. So, many plastic surgeons post images of the procedures they perform, or the before and after images of patients. However, it is very important to get the consent of the patient before posting such images. The patient must give his/her consent for filming before the surgery. Most patients are happy to help and they like their images being shared on social media platforms because it helps them compare and enjoy their transformation. In some cases, patients may request the photos and images to be shared on social media. But in some cases, the patients themselves may film the procedure and post it on social media.
Source: instagram.com/drcangello
Sometimes, some plastic surgeons post videos of the procedure in real time. But this can cause misconception about the surgery and even confuse the patient’s decision-making process. It is important to understand that even after the patient’s consent, there is no way to control where all the content may appear, once it is posted. It can be easily manipulated and redistributed on social media in no time.
What to Do
The images that are posted on social media have a tremendous impact on people’s life. So, plastic surgeons should not just understand the advantages of making a post but also realize the risks involved. So, the best method of posting a picture is to ensure that all the pictures are taken in standardized and clinical manner with the same lighting and in the same positions which shows the effectiveness of the procedure. This enables those prospective patients who are researching plastic surgery options on social media, to maintain realistic expectations.
Similarly, plastic surgeons are already told about training and educated about the ethical decency and respect that all patients deserve. As plastic and reconstructive surgeons, they are governed by a code of conduct from these regulatory bodies to guide ethical and respectful practice.
So, if you are a plastic surgeon who wants to build a strong social media presence to attract more people and expand your medical practice, it is best to reach out to a reliable SEO agency that can guide you and provide the SEO for plastic surgeons and implement the right social media marketing strategies that will help grow your customer base and your business.
‘Keyword’, as the name suggests, is a word or phrase used by online users to search for information on the internet. The ranking of a particular keyword is a major metrics of SEO. The ranking is very important as it drives business value by determining the traffic of the website as well as conversion and revenue.
Keyword research is an effective technique used by businesses globally to understand the needs of their users. Usually, companies use various keywords research tools to find out the words or phrases popularly used by their target users when searching for their products or services. They incorporate such words into their website to increase ranking in Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). Keyword incorporation along with other SEO best practices determines when and where the page would show up in the SERPs. Digital marketing service companies can assist a business in keyword research and implementation, which would enable in-house employees to concentrate to on other core activities.
So, is keyword research important in 2022? Experts in the field say it is indeed important. If you want to earn a good position in the popular search engines, SEO keyword research is indispensable. Given the significance of keywords and key phrases, let’s take a deep dive into their continuing relevance.
Keyword Research
Keywords help websites increase their rank on SERPs, grab the attention of users and thereby increase organic traffic to the website. The users utilize different types of keywords such as branded, non-branded, local + global, brand + geography, and brand + product.
Keywords are directional towards the specific needs of the users. However, a major problem that arises is in the vocabulary difference between the index system and end user. That means, users can ask the same query in different ways. As a result, Google and other search engines utilize highly advanced query expansion technology, to meet the requirements of every user.
To grab a high rank or visibility for your content or website in SERPs, you should include keywords which users commonly use to search on the internet. Keyword research is an important part of strategic SEO Before incorporating keywords in your content, make sure that the list of keywords you have, matches what users are searching for. Well-planned keywords can show the difference between site visit and resultant sale. An excellent list of keywords can place the content at the top of the search results. Content writers and search engine optimizers work together to achieve this task. Businesses can utilize content writing services to ease this task effectively.
However, before writing content, the writer and SEO specialist should know the audience, the business’ competitors, and market to identify the right keywords. You should perform keyword research before and after building the website. Also, closely observe the ranking of your keywords as well. There are different types of keywords such as:
However, there are certain factors which you should take into account before proceeding to keyword research. This helps you to prefect your SEO keyword. The factors include:
Keywords having high search volume
Relevance of keywords
Should have strong conversion value
Should be specific
Should have audience appeal
Should be competitive
Should be proven
At the same time, what will be the future of keywords? Without any doubt we can say that the demand for keywords would increase in the coming years. There are certain factors which maneuver the growth of keywords in 2022.
Factors Contributing to the Success of Keyword Use
Use of Proper Keywords: Keyword research is an important and primary step of SEO. If it went wrong, then the end result would be disappointing. Low search volume and incorrect usage are the results of improper usage of keywords. Let’s check out the effects:
A keyword with low search volume means very few people or no one uses that particular keyword. As a result, the content receives a lower rank or would be removed from search results.
In contrast, a word with high search volume would retain its position in search results for a longer period. However, always remember that there are competitive pages that use the same keywords with the same motive.
If you choose irrelevant keywords, then the visitors are not likely to stay on the page. This results in a negative impact by increasing bounce rate.
If a selected keyword doesn’t fit in your content, then the content might disappear or may not be found in organic search.
Keywords Provide Information to Your Article: After keyword research, you should list out the best keywords with high visibility and ranking. Then categorize each keyword into relevant websites. Then make use of those keywords for a proper content.
Keyword Clustering: Research is the backbone of keyword clustering. You can include more than a keyword in a single content. Thus, it gains a lot of transactions in SEO. As a result, it improves the potential of ranking. However, before clustering keywords, you should conduct a proper keyword research.
Tips for Effective Keyword Research
Proper keyword research helps you to list out effective keywords for your websites. It helps you to categorize keywords thematically in a core topic. Here are some tips for effective keyword research:
Should have close relation with audience: The ultimate aim of SEO is to increase traffic to a website. However, before incorporating keywords and SEO optimization, you should know the problems of the audience and what they need and add possible and relevant keywords to your content which in turn helps to increase traffic
Use the audience’s language: Know your audience and use their language in your content. While doing research, do it according to the category of your audience.
Analyze competitor websites: Competitor websites are the great source of information. Analyzing their websites helps you to catch up relevant keywords
Make use of low-competition keywords: Low-competition websites helps you to raise your website ranking. Try to choose keywords with about 1000 searches per month helps you to invite more visitors to your website.
Research like a user: Research a keyword like your website audience would. Try to find out the possible keywords that users would use to search on a particular topic.
Aware about the current trend: Seasonal trends had a great impact on search engines. Try to find keywords for a product related to current seasonal trend.
Make use of keyword tools: There is a lot of tools design for SEO purpose which helps to conduct keyword research effectively.
There are a lot of improved tools crafted especially for SEO purpose. Among them there are tools for conducting effective keyword research. Here are some of those tools which has improved features and would remain popular in 2022:
Soovle
Google Keyword Planner
Jaaxy
SEMrush
Ahrefs
Serpstat
Keyword Surfer
Ubersuggest
Keywords are the backbone of SEO. Without keywords, optimization of content is not possible. It helps to rank up as well as rank down a website. An experienced search engine optimization company helps to rank up your website by including latest trends and factors. Today, more business firms and companies are relying upon digital promoting especially after pandemic. Thus, in one word we can say that, as the demand for digital marketing is increasing day by day, the relevance of keyword also increases accordingly in the coming years.
As an SEO company offering social media marketing services, we keep track of the latest trends to help businesses build their brand and connect with their audience. One interesting development is LinkedIn’s new Pages Features aimed at helping organizations attract and retain top talent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported record-breaking statistics: in July alone, the number of jobs available in the country stood at 10.9 million and in August, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs. In this competitive hiring market, candidates are looking to understand more about the companies they are considering.
The world is entering into a talent migration called “The Great Reshuffle”, where people are rethinking not just how they work, but why they work, notes LinkedIn CEO Ryan Rolensky. He calls this as an unprecedented moment in the history of work when people will choose to work at companies they love and feel passionate about. The organizations that will see greater success will be those that engage their employees with empathy and trust. LinkedIn Pages now have new features designed to help organizations share more about their brand and culture, attract top talent, and retain their existing employees.
New Tools on LinkedIn Pages
As people seek new and better jobs, businesses need to communicate to prospective employees that they’re the right company to work for. At the same time, they need to create stronger connections with their existing employees to keep them around long-term. LinkedIn Pages have been updated to help organizations achieve these goals. Let’s take a look at the new features on LinkedIn Pages.
Updates to the “My Company Tab”: The My Company Tab – an employee-only space on LinkedIn Pages–has been updated with new ways to keep employees engaged and informed about what’s going on internally. The tab is dedicated to building employee community to help organizations streamline and grow their employee advocacy efforts on LinkedIn.
The My Company Tab updates allow an organization to easily curate content from their Page feed to the tab with the simple click. Employees will get notified by LinkedIn as soon as new content is curated and they will immediately get the opportunity to reshare the content, so that they know exactly how they can help amplify the company’s messages. Employees can also visualize the content that others in the organization are sharing, and how their own reshares matter.
Previously from an internal LinkedIn research, the company has noted that “employees are 60% more likely to engage with posts from coworkers vs. non-coworkers, and 14x more likely to share their organization’s Page content vs. other brands’ content.” This statistics shows how employees are more likely to engage with content and share it when it’s from their own company.
Sharing Workplace Policies Openly: To attract top talent and benefit their brand, companies to be ultra-transparent about their workplace policies. LinkedIn has introduced a new feature that allows organizations to convey their work mode – remote, hybrid or on-site – in their LinkedIn Page header. Additional space is available to clarify evolving policies on vaccines, pay adjustments, and so on.
Customizable Competitor Analytics: To learn more about how their page compares to competitors, LinkedIn added customizable competitor analytics to the LinkedIn Page Analytics Tab. It allows organizations to track and compare their competitor follower growth and organic content performance with their own.
An organization can add up to nine of their competitors to scale their LinkedIn Page performance. LinkedIn says it will be adding more metrics, such as engagement rate, to help organizations adapt their content strategy in a significant way.
As a professional organic SEO company, we can help you leverage social media with platform-specific strategies and take your digital marketing campaign to the next level.
Summer Shootout Barrel Racing beckons all horse lovers to the Oklahoma City State Fair Park from the 19th to the 21st of August, 2011. The event will be held from 8 AM to 8 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the State Fair Arena and SuperBarn. It is sure to be a weekend of fun, and Oklahoma City is full of natural and urban attractions not least of which is the Bricktown entertainment district. Hotels at Bricktown offer you affordable hospitality, beckoning one and all.
Cost-effective but Unforgettable Hospitality
With the cost-effective packages offered by hotels in Bricktown, you can expect comprehensive features to make each day a memorable one, right from the creature comforts at the rooms to the 24-hour shuttle services that chauffeur you to your destination and also take you through the many must-visit attractions of the city. Here’s what you can expect:
Exquisitely comfortable mattresses
Free high speed wireless Internet
Complimentary breakfast
Stainless steel fridges & microwaves
Personal voicemail
Complimentary shuttle service
Business center
Iron & ironing boards
Coffee makers
Digital cable TV
Hair-dryers
Working desks with plug-ins
Extra pillows for comfort
Sensory & spa products
The rooms are exquisitely designed and the complimentary breakfast is sumptuous. Guess there’s nothing more you could ask for to have an unbelievably marvelous time at Oklahoma City.
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Loads of Fun at the OKC State Fair Park
The OKC State Fair is a hugely popular annual competition and entertainment extravaganza held at Oklahoma City every year at the State Fair Park. The 2011 OKC State Fair features live music, family-friendly and kids’ events, competitive events and lots more from the 15th to the 25th of September, 2011.
Non-stop Entertainment at the OKC State Fair
The Chesapeake Energy Stage features great entertainment with live bands, while Disney On Ice has entertainment for kids including the staging of Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 3 from the 15th to the 20th. You can experience the vibrancy of color during the 60th Annual Oklahoma State Fair Band Day as mid-high, junior and high school bands from around the state compete on September 19, 2011. Competitive events are conducted in the categories of Livestock/ FFA/ 4-H, Horse, Creative Arts, Wine Contest and Band Day Competition. There are plenty of other events taking place as well including a beauty contest, so please visit okstatefair.com for tickets (not all events require tickets) and more information.
Southern Hospitality Affordably
The hotels at Bricktown provide you with excellent hospitality to make any visit worth remembering and coming back to. Family-friendly Southern hospitality blends with world class service to offer guests a very memorable experience in an affordable manner. Enjoy features such as:
Exquisitely comfortable mattresses
Free high speed wireless Internet
Complimentary breakfast
Stainless steel fridges & microwaves
Personal voicemail
Complimentary shuttle service
Business center
Iron & ironing boards
Coffee makers
Digital cable TV
Hair-dryers
Working desks with plug-ins
Extra pillows for comfort
Sensory & spa products
With unforgettable hospitality and tons and fun, there’s nothing keeping you from checking out OKC.
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Oklahoma State Fair Is Waiting for You
From September 15 to 25, 2011 Oklahoma City will erupt with excitement and fun thanks to the Oklahoma State Fair. It is an annual event containing competitive and entertaining events at the OKC State Fair Park.
Great excitement in Store at Oklahoma State Fair
This year’s edition is no different, with competitive events in the Horse, Livestock/FFA/4-H, Wine Contest, Band Day Competition and Creative Arts classifications raising the competition fever. There are entertainment shows such as live music at the Chesapeake Energy Stage and the staging of the Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 from the 15th through the 20th of September. On the 19th, the 60th Annual Oklahoma State Fair Band Day will entertain with high school, mid-high and junior high school bands adding a splash of color. Many events are free while some have tickets. Visit okstatefair.com for more details.
More Than the State Fair to Entertain you – the Hospitality
It isn’t only the State Fair that will entertain you, but a host of other vibrant attractions Oklahoma City and its Bricktown entertainment district are known for. But you need affordable but fine hospitality to make your experience memorable. Hotels at Bricktown are known for their affordable but fine Southern hospitality. The experience is completed by comprehensive features such as:
Exquisitely comfortable mattresses
Free high speed wireless Internet
Complimentary breakfast
Stainless steel fridges & microwaves
Personal voicemail
Complimentary shuttle service
Business center
Iron & ironing boards
Coffee makers
Digital cable TV
Hair-dryers
Working desks with plug-ins
Extra pillows for comfort
Sensory & spa products
Oklahoma City beckons you to fun and more. And with great hospitality, you don’t need to think twice.
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Five New Strategies for Revenue Cycle Management
In the evolving healthcare landscape, hospitals and medical practices need new revenue cycle management (RCM) strategies. Choosing an experienced, technologically savvy medical billing service provider will ensure valuable support to optimize reimbursement. However, as the business of healthcare has become very complex, medical billing is no longer a simple administrative function. In a recent Beckers Hospital Review report, industry experts recommend specific new strategies to ensure that hospitals’ RCM efforts are focused and financially stable.
Tracking claim denial rate: Following up on claims and denials is a critical aspect to enhance revenue generation. The claims tracking process involves reviewing accounts receivable (AR) and measuring the average number of days it takes to collect the payments due to the healthcare provider, and identifying patterns in payment by insurance companies. Automating key revenue cycle workflows, finding more efficient ways to submit clean claims, and improving collection efforts,and focusing on the appeals process can reduce days in AR and boost cash flow. In fact, AR management is an important element of the RCM solutions provided by medical billing companies.
Review of chargemaster: Experts recommend that hospitals conduct a comprehensive review of their chargemaster and ensure price transparency for patients. This is an important requirement to prepare for the CMS’ price transparency rule coming into force Jan. 1, 2019. Under CMS’ annual Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule, hospitals need to publish a list of their standard charges online in order to help patients understand the cost of care and prepare for any out-of-pocket costs. CMS also requires providers to update that information every year. A recent report from the National Association of Healthcare Revenue Integrity, an expert recommends that hospitals take the following steps to prepare to post their chargesmaters online:
Review existing state hospital pricing and price transparency requirements
Review the chargemaster for consistent pricing
Inform all stakeholders about the new requirements, including IT personnel responsible for the online posting of the chargemaster
Fix a date for post the chargemaster
Create customer service scripts to deal with patients’ questions about the chargemaster and pricing
Price transparency is critical to boost patient satisfaction and collection of patient financial responsibility.
Reduce operating room delays and last-minute cancellations:Operating rooms are a very costly area of hospital operations.Depending upon the complexity of the procedure, last-minute cancellations or delays can prove very costly for hospitals. When planned surgical procedures are cancelled, it leads to considerable loss of revenue and waste of resources,and also results in significant psychological, social and financial consequences for patients and their families.Experts say that, to improve financial performance, hospitals should review their OR operations for avoidable costs and focus on minimizing cancellations and delays in procedures.
Strategies to improve OR operations include focusing on same-day cancellations, on-time procedure starts, equipment availability and parallel processing to increase efficiency.
Blocking OR time by the day rather than stints of hourly blocks
Adjusting block times based on the balance between under- and overutilization of the OR
Avoiding potential delays and gaps for missing equipment by assessing the risk of potential problems in advance
Avoiding tardiness in the OR by starting cases on time
Turnover time reductions:
However, as ORs differ considerably based on patient population, type of hospital and type of surgery and anesthesia, it is difficult to set universal benchmarks for all Ors.
Using online estimator tools to help patients understand their potential out-of-pocket costs: In an era of regulation, high-deductible plans and increased patient responsibility for bills, using a customer-friendly online estimator can ensure that patients get the information they want. Experian’s price-estimator tool, for instance, calculates patients’ out-of-pocket cost based on the hospital’s chargemaster price, its claims history for providing that service, its contract terms with the patient’s insurer, and the patient’s benefit structure and deductible status. It also estimates out-of-pocket costs for self-pay patient. Using a price estimator tool can boost patient satisfaction and attract more patients. Experts advise that when using the tool, hospitals should also post a disclaimer with standard charges, so patients know that the price list they are viewing may not indicate their actual out-of-pocket costs.
Include both clinical interactions and nonclinical interactions when considering net promoter scores: Net promoter scores reflect how likely patients are likely to recommend the organization to another person. Patient care involves both clinical and nonclinical support services. Even the best clinical services cannot be truly optimal without dedicated nonclinical and clinical-support staff.Experts recommend that hospitals include both clinical interactions and nonclinical interactions when considering net promoter scores. Healthcare providers need to use the same approach as retail businesses and tap into what the patient not only wants but also expects by examining how every nonclinical touchpoint is interacting with the patient. Net promotion scores will provide hospitals with a more accurate picture of patient satisfaction.
Medical billing is the core of healthcare RCM. The medical billing process is complex and difficult to manage, but with the right processes, proactive strategies, and the support of an experienced medical billing and coding company, providers canoptimize RCM and reduce days in accounts receivable.
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Thermo Scientific Indiko™ Plus Clinical and Specialty Chemistry System
A leading supplier of high-quality lab equipment, Block Scientific offers the Indiko™ Plus Clinical and Specialty Chemistry System from Thermo Scientific. This fully-automated random access benchtop system offers optimal operational excellence for clinical and specialty chemistry testing. A reliable, fully supported solution integrating analyzer, reagents and consumables, this system offers laboratories ease of use and time-saving automation to supports routine daily work. It is an ideal option for small and medium sized laboratories.
In addition to offering true operational reliability and walk-away convenience, this analyzer is self-contained with no need for external water or drainage connections, which makes it quick and easy to install.
Indiko™ Plus Analyzer – Reliable and User-friendly
The Indiko Plus is a flexible system with uncompromised level of performance. Three different sample racks are available for user convenience:
Two 9-position racks can be adjusted for different aspiration heights and used for 0.5 and 2.0 ml cups and 5, 7 or 10 ml tubes
The 18-position for non-barcoded 7 ml tubes can be used either for 0.5 and 2.0 ml cups or for non-barcoded 7 ml tubes
The system’s reagent disk can accommodate 42 reagents. Its unique, low-volume cuvette design guarantees small reagent volumes, minimal amount of reagent waste, and thus secure low reagent cost. As it enables users to work with disposable cuvettes, this analyzer helps lower the risk of contamination and shortens the time of analysis. The simple and clear user interface eases patient sample handling and also allows control of the reagent levels in real-time during work.
Key Features
Minimal maintenance, maximized analyzer uptime
Optimized, liquid system reagents
Automated clot detection
Built-in real-time QC program
Automated real-time monitoring of the reagent usage and expiry date
Ready-to-use, maintenance-free electrodes
Bi-directional LIS connection
Specifications
Operating Principle: Fully automated, sample oriented, random access analyzer
Capacity: photometric tests/hr: up to 350; ISE tests/hr: up to 135
On-board capacity: up to 108 sample positions and 42 reagent positions
Sample volume: 2 to 120μL
Reagent volume: 2 to 240μL (1 to 4 reagent additions/test)
Reaction volume: 120 to 300μL
Incubator: 9 x 10-position single-use cuvettes, totally 90 cuvette positions
Photometer: 12 filter positions
Absorbance range: 0 to 3.5A
Water consumption: 2.5L/hr.
Workstation: separate PC
Bi-directional LIS-connection
Power consumption: 300w
Dimensions (L x W x H): 27.6 x 37 x 24.4in. (70 x 94 x 62cm)
Weight: 242 lb. (110kg)
Block Scientific offers the Thermo Scientific Indiko Plus, NEW, including Installation, Training, Validation, 1 year warranty, and Shipping.
Contact Us
To place an order for the Thermo Scientific Indiko™ Plus Clinical and Specialty Chemistry System or to check out other chemistry analyzers we offer, visit our online store – http://www.blockscientificstore.com. To contact us, call 631-589-1118 or send an email to info@blockscientific.com.
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Food Service Products
Aluminum Foil Sandwich Wrap – Silver
The Silver Aluminum Foil Sandwich Wrap is made of exclusive foil/paper lamination to retain heat, absorb steam and resist curl. Its honeycomb design creates air pockets for superior heat retention. The moisture-absorbing paper layer helps to keep food fresh.
Product Features
Dimensions – 14 X 16
Excellent deadfold capability
Case: 1000
Case Weight – 16#
Blue Foil Sheets – 10.5 in. x 13 inch
The Blue Foil Sheets are foil insulated wraps that come with a honeycomb design for superior heat retention, moisture/grease resistance and holding times. Their superior dead-fold design helps to hold the shape of the wrapped food items. A moisture-absorbing paper layer helps to maintain the freshness of crispy breads and buns longer.
Product Features
Dimensions 10.5 in. x 13 inch
Case Pack – 4@500
Surpasses rigid clamshells in raw-material waste reduction and heat retention
D Vour Absorbent Powder
The D Vour Absorbent Powder absorbs and coagulates spilled liquids and bodily fluids, as well as eliminates all the repellent odors. D Vour deodorant powder, made of special polymer, ensures effective results in short time. When sprinkled lightly on liquid, the powder converts it into an odorless, semi-solid mass within seconds, enabling easy and fast clean-up. D Vour is the perfect choice for removing spills and unpleasant odors in restaurants, schools, healthcare facilities and grocery stores. Its quick absorbent formula sets spills of all free-flowing liquids, except oils and strong oxidizing materials such as acids.
Product Features
Volume: 16 oz.
Lemon fragrance
Absorbs spills 100 times its weight
Sets liquids and remove repulsive odors within seconds
Weight: 7
Pack: 6 cans per case
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Round Eye Supply
Conex Rolled Rim Graduated Medicine 1.25 oz. Clear Cup
Made of durable, crack-resistant polypropylene, Conex Rolled Rim Graduated Medicine cups are ideal for many diverse applications. These 1.25 oz. clear cups are suitable for dry and liquid medications, household, dining, and carryout applications. For dining, these Conex clear polypropylene cups can serve anything from small side dishes to salad dressing and whipped butter. For carryout, when coupled with a secure fitting clear lid, they safely transport side sauces such as ranch dressing, marinara, salsa, and more.
Features
Covers all market needs
Durable polypropylene construction
Polypropylene increases product visibility
Secure lid fit
Rolled rim
Lids Sold Separately
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Fresh, Fun Contemporary Area Rugs
Decorating with fresh, fun contemporary area rugs is a stylish and fantastic way to add a bright splash of color to the décor of any room. These area rugs can be the focal point of the room, giving the entire room an inviting, modern look.
Area Rugs in Contemporary Style to Fit Any Room Décor
From the vast selections of area rugs available in the market, you can select those that are perfect for your purpose. Nowadays, contemporary area rugs can easily and harmoniously fit into any room of your home, including doorways, bedrooms, family rooms, kid’s rooms and kitchens. Machine-made or hand-knotted museum pieces, big or small rugs, square or round rugs, discrete or fun rugs, you can find these in a variety of different styles and patterns for every walk of life – from the leading name brands you know and love. To brighten your kid’s room, you can find rugs detailed with bright, fun designs in attractive colors.
Fine Choice of Materials and Colors
A variety of rugs ranging from those made from traditional materials to multi-functional area rugs can be found in a variety of striking colors and at all price points. Wool, cotton, polypropylene, faux silk, and olefin are just a few of the materials that work well with striking and trendy contemporary touches. One can also avail of these in sizes such as 6’x 9′, 4’x 6′, 8’x 10′, 9’x12′, and 10’x14′. While making a choice, you have to take into account factors such as the size of the room, the feel you want to create, and more.
Purchasing online is considered the most cost-effective way to find high quality and durable contemporary area rugs. You will find hundreds of online vendors offering the finest quality area rugs in contemporary designs. Whether you need looped, shag, woven, or outdoor rugs – all can be purchased online in just a few minutes.
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Floral Area Rugs - Add a Warm Welcome
Use floral area rugs to add a warm welcome to your home or office space. It is a good choice for those who want to beautify their homes in a creative and cost-effective manner. By decorating with floral area rugs, you can bring the beauty of nature into your home.
Wide Selections, Great Choices
Apart from protecting high-traffic areas like hallways or sitting areas, these are sure to bring a touch of elegance to your interiors in entryways, guest room, dining room, bed room, kitchen, or any other place where you would like to add brightness and charm. In today’s market, floral area rugs in all modes, from traditional to modern in a variety of sizes ranging from small sized 4’x 6′ to large to 10’x 14′ and every size in-between. These also come in a variety of styles, designs, shapes, and vivid colors to liven up a household.
Online floor covering stores offer a wide variety of new and striking floral rugs in fresh patterns and designs, including begonia, cala lily, orchid, sunflower, tulip, and more. Machine-made rugs, hand-knotted museum pieces, big or small rugs, and square or round floral rugs from leading brand names are available in the stores. Area rugs in floral designs made from polypropylene, silk, or wool can be purchased.
Floral Rug Options
As it can list the prices, styles, and sizes of branded collections, online shopping is considered the best and cost-effective way to shop for these products. Most of the online vendors who are engaged in providing exceptionally beautiful rugs, offer a fine line of floral area rugs that are chosen to complement any decor.
Always take your time when making a choice. A good dealer can provide customers with a great selection of floral rugs, superior product knowledge, excellent service and expert installation – all at reasonable rates.
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Medical Coding for Skin Biopsies - Use the Correct CPT Codes
Biopsies are used to obtain a sample of your tissue or cells for diagnostic histopathologic examination performed independently or unrelated/distinct from other procedures/services. The removal of tissue or cells for analysis is called a biopsy. A skin biopsy is a procedure in which a physician cuts and removes small samples of skin or cells from the surface of your body to get it tested. The sample obtained from a skin biopsy is further examined to diagnose certain skin conditions such as skin tumors, infections and other types of growth or skin conditions. A biopsy of a lesion of the skin can help physicians report the difference between a skin cancer and a benign or noncancerous lesion. The skin sample obtained during a biopsy is further sent for laboratory analysis under a microscope.Dermatology medical coding involves several difficult aspects for coders to memorize unique termsrelated to sizing wounds and lesions. As skin procedure codes take into account the type of removal, the size and location of the lesion (such as length, depth, width, and circumference), the provider’s intent and pathologic results, documenting the service and selecting the right medical codes can be confusing. Outsourcing the task to a reliable and experienced medical billing and coding company is a feasible strategy that helps physicians simplify their documentation process. Coders must be familiar with terminology related to benign and malignant masses along with actions such as shaving, destruction, and performing biopsies.
Why Is a Skin Lesion Biopsy Done?
Generally, a skin biopsy is performed to determine the cause of a growth, sore or rash and could include –
Skin cancer including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma
Rashes or blistering skin conditions
Pre-cancerous cells
Non-cancerous growths
Chronic bacterial or fungal skin infection
Changing moles
Actinic keratosis
Warts
The potential risk factors associated with this procedure include – excessive bleeding from the biopsy site, pain, skin infections, local reaction to the anesthetic, scarring and other healing problems.
Types of Skin Biopsies
There are four main types of skin biopsies which include –
Shave biopsy – Physicians will remove only a small section of the top layers of skin (epidermis and a portion of the dermis) using a special razor blade or scalpel.
Punch biopsy – Physicians use a circular tool to remove a small section of skin including deeper layers (epidermis, dermis and superficial fat).
Excisional biopsy – This type is used to remove the entire lesion/abnormal skin, including a portion of normal skin down to or through the fatty layer of skin.
Incisional biopsy – This is used to remove a small part of a larger lesion.
After the biopsy, the wound will be covered with gauze and other bandaging. Patients will be able to go home once the sample has been taken.
Undergoing Skin Biopsy – Preparations Required
Generally performed in the doctor’s office, patients undergoing skin biopsy will be asked to change into a hospital gown so that the area of suspect skin can be more easily seen and removed. Before undergoing the procedure, patients must disclose information about – current medicines consumed (including over-the-counter drugs, street drugs, or herbal or nutritional supplements), any allergies/reactions to medications (especially to local anesthetics, such as lidocaine or novocaine, or to iodine cleaning solutions, such as Betadine), pregnancy and bleeding problems if any.
The physician will first cleanse the biopsy site (with a sterile soap solution) and then numb the skin by using a local anesthetic (pain-relieving) injection, usually lidocaine. Patients will experience a brief prick and stinging sensation as and when the medicine is injected. After the skin is numb, the physicianwill perform the biopsy and the tissue will be removed. The removed portion of tissue will be sent to the laboratory for analysis by a pathologist. After the procedure, the wound will be covered with gauze and other bandaging. A skin biopsy typically takes about 15-20 minutes, including the preparation time, dressing the wound and instructions for at-home care.
CPT Codes for Skin Biopsies
Dermatology medical codinginvolves the use of specific CPT codes to document different types of skin biopsies. The CPT codes for skin biopsies include –
For the first biopsy, submit code 11100 – Biopsy of skin, subcutaneous tissue and/or mucous membrane [including simple closure], unless otherwise listed; single lesion). For each separate biopsy after the first one, use the add-on code 11101 – Biopsy of skin, subcutaneous tissue and/or mucous membrane [including simple closure], unless otherwise listed separate procedure; each separate/additional lesion [List separately in addition to the code for primary procedure].
For instance, if three lesions are biopsied, codes 11100, 11101 and 11101 should be submitted. If skin biopsy is performed more than the maximum number of times, it is important to submit supporting documentation to avoid denials. If the removal is simply for diagnosis, the procedure is coded as a biopsy. If the entire lesion is removed, the excision codes should be used.
The new CPT codes that range from 11102 – 11107 are reported on the basis of method of removal, which offers greater specificity. The new CPT codes are as follows –
11102 – Tangential biopsy of skin (e.g., shave, scoop, saucerize, curette) single lesion
+11103 – Each separate/additional lesion (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure)
11104 – Punch biopsy of skin (including simple closure, when performed) single lesion
+11105 – Each separate/additional lesion (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure
11106 – Incisional biopsy of skin (including simple closure, when performed) single lesion
+11107 – Each separate/additional lesion (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure
Prior to the above new CPT codes, biopsies were reported with CPT code 11100 for the first lesion and 11101 for each additional lesion biopsied regardless of method of removal. However, the new biopsy codes are reported based on method of removal including –
Tangential biopsy (Codes – 11102 and 11103)
Tangential biopsy includes removal via shave, scoop, saucerization or curette. The procedure is performed with a sharp blade like a flexible biopsy blade, obliquely oriented scalpel or curette. A sample of epidermal tissues is removed with or without portions of the underlying dermis. This type of biopsy does not involve the full thickness of the dermis. When the full thickness of the dermis is involved, the procedure is reported using the codes – 11300-11313 (removal of epidermal or dermal lesions).
Punch biopsy (Codes -11104 and 11105)
Performed using a punch tool, the purpose of this biopsy is to remove a sample of a cutaneous lesion for a diagnostic pathologic examination. Simple closure is included and cannot be billed separately.
Incisional biopsy (Codes -11106 and 11107)
An incisional biopsy requires a sharp blade (not a punch tool) to remove a full-thickness sample of tissue via a vertical incision or wedge, penetrating deep into the dermis, into the subcutaneous space. An incisional biopsy may sample subcutaneous fat. When the entire lesion is excised, it is important report the excision codes – 11400-11646 (depending on type of lesion – benign or malignant).
Multiple Biopsies
If more than one biopsy is performed on the same date, report only one primary biopsy code. When more than one biopsy is performed using the same technique, the appropriate primary biopsy code is reported for the first biopsy and the add-on code is reported for each additional lesion.
Recovery after the Procedure
Once the skin biopsy is complete, patients may experience some soreness around the biopsied site for a few days. Physicians will either put a bandage or stitches (in some cases) over the biopsy site. In most cases, physicians may instruct patients to keep the bandage over the biopsy site until the next day. They may be advised to change the bandage daily, wash the wound and apply antibacterial ointment. Tylenol is usually sufficient to relieve discomfort. However, patients who have stitches around the biopsy site need to keep the area as clean and dry as possible. Healing of the wound can take several weeks, but is usually complete within two months. Wounds on the legs and feet tend to heal slower than those on other areas of the body.
Medical billing and coding can be complex and requires knowledge regarding appropriate coding, modifiers and payer-specific medical billing for correct and on-time reimbursement. With all the complexities, the support of an experienced medical coding serviceprovider could be useful to report skin biopsy procedures correctly for optimal reimbursement. Professional coders in reliable medical billing and coding companies can ensure accurate reporting of diagnostic and procedure details.
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Common Knee Injuries and Treatment Options
The knee is a fragile and sensitive joint which plays a vital role in the body’s stability and motion. The knee is made up of many structures and these can be severely injured by a traumatic event or disease. Injuries generally occur due to twisting or bending force applied to the knee or a direct blow suffered while playing sports, or by a sudden fall or accident. In addition to sudden injury, repetitive overuse and underlying medical conditions like osteoporosis can cause knee pain. There are different types of knee injuries all of which involve various symptoms including pain, swelling, and stiffness. Injury to the knee can cause instability and become debilitating if not treated quickly. Fortunately, effective nonsurgical knee injury treatment is available in established pain management and rehabilitation centers in Brooklyn, NYC.
Common Injuries of the Knee — Symptoms and Causes
Injuries to the knee are mainly defined by the affected anatomy of the knee and the mechanism that caused the injury. Let’s take a look at some common knee injuries –
Sprains – A sprain is an injury to the ligaments that hold the knee together. Sprains are graded by the amount of stretching or tearing of the ligament fibers and how much instability it causes. Ligament tears include – injuries to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL). ACL injuries occur as a result of a twisting or pivoting movement. PCL injuries are the result of a powerful force such as a football player falling on a knee that is bent. The LCL runs along the outside of the knee joint and stabilizes the knee so that the bones do not slide from side to side. A common injury among athletes, MCL sprain occurs due to a blow to the outside of the knee, which forces the knee inward.
Strains – Strains occur when the tendons or muscles surrounding the knee are stretched, usually due to hyperflexion or hyperextension of the knee. Strains can cause pain outside the joint as well as dysfunction of the normal range of motion of the knee.
Tendinitis – Tendinitis refers to inflammation or irritation of a tendon (the thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone) that connects the kneecap to the shinbone. Also known as jumper’s knee, tendonitis is common among athletes who frequently jump. However, any physically active person can be at risk of developing this condition.
Bursitis – This is a painful condition that affects the bursae – small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion the bones, tendons and muscles near your joints. Bursitis occurs when bursae swells and become inflamed with overuse or repeated pressure from kneeling. Most cases of bursitis respond well to self-care measures. However, in some instances, antibiotics or aspiration (a procedure that uses a needle to withdraw excess fluid) may be required.
Runner’s knee – Patellofemoral pain syndrome or runner’s knee is one of the most common causes of knee pain in young athletes. It is caused by overuse of the patellofemoral joint (the joint between the kneecap (patella) and thighbone) — causing pain in the front of the knee.
Meniscal tears – One of the most frequently occurring cartilage injuries of the knee, meniscal tears generally occur when the knee twists or pivots. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, swelling, locking, and decreased range of motion. This type of knee injury is common in contact sports like football as well as noncontact sports requiring jumping and cutting such as volleyball and soccer.
Fractures and dislocations – Knee fractures are usually the result of trauma such as falling directly on the knee, repetitive stress injuries, osteoporosis and tumors. Dislocation is the displacement of a joint from its normal position, which is usually caused by a blow, fall or other trauma. Symptoms include loss of motion, swelling and pain and sometimes, a visibly out of place joint.
Cartilage injuries – Cartilage, the tough, flexible tissue which covers the surface of joints, can get damaged as a result of a sudden injury, such as a sports injury, or gradual wear and tear (osteoarthritis). Symptoms include – knee joint pain, swelling, stiffness and clicking or grinding sensation.
Chondromalacia patellae – This condition occurs when the cartilage on the undersurface of the patella (kneecap) deteriorates and softens. It is the result of repetitive wear and tear of the kneecap that can occur due to acute injury to the patella or due to aging. A work or sports activity that puts great stress on the knee increases the risk of developing chondromalacia patella.
Knee Injury Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation
Diagnosis will typically begin with a detailed physical examination of the joint, wherein the physician will examine the bones and check whether any of the joints are out of place. Diagnostic imaging tests such as x-ray and MRI scan may be conducted to examine the condition of the bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments and tendons and the extent of injury. Once the diagnosis is established, a team of pain management professionals will collaborate to develop an appropriate treatment plan.
Knee injuries that are not severe can be effectively treated without surgery. The first course of action is rest, application of ice packs and a compression bandage. Most minor injuries improve with rest (after two to three weeks). However, if the pain persists beyond three weeks despite these measures, medical treatment will be necessary.
Multispecialty pain management centers in Brooklyn, NYC offer effective nonsurgical treatment modalities to address chronic pain symptoms. Nonsurgical modalities used in knee injury treatment include – physical therapy, injections, anti-inflammation medications, TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation), and Game Ready Cold Therapy.
Exercises to Strengthen the Knee Joint
Physical therapy for knee injury will include exercises to strengthen the muscles and improve flexibility. Strengthening exercises help build up the muscles around the joints. Strengthening the muscles around the knee such as the quadriceps and hamstrings will reduce stress on the joint and help it absorb shock. Gentle stretching or flexibility exercises stretch the muscles in order to restore range of motion, reduce muscle soreness, and prevent injury. In addition, patients will be educated on how to manage injury when it occurs and how to prevent re-injury. This will help prevent potential damage and disability in the long-term.
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