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Clinical Reference Systems: Pediatric Advisor 10.0

The Pediatric Practice Newsletter: Practical Aspects

Someone In Charge

One person must be the chief editor; that is, the prime mover and the one responsible for content and deadlines. This person should have writing and editing skills. Besides the chief editor, each of our pediatricians reads and edits every issue before it is printed. They're encouraged to comment on content and have offered invaluable input.

Contributions and Credit

At first, almost everyone volunteered to write some pieces and help with subject matter. As priorities changed over the years, our editor has received fewer original written pieces than anticipated. Contributors may include physicians, nurse practitioners, medical personnel, office managers, professional writers, and family members.

Make sure that you give credit to authors. Some parents who submit questions, comments, or articles may choose to remain anonymous. However, most of our parents prefer credit and they love to be published and quoted. We contact each one to ask if we can share their note or letter. We have yet to receive a negative reply. This contact extends and enhances our teaching.

Length and Format

A good beginning model is one typewritten page. You can do it on a typewriter or computer. (A word processor is easier and a vast improvement over the cut-and-tape method of moving things around and making corrections and changes.) You might start with a holiday letter. Patients appreciate your personal greetings for happy holidays and healthy new years. It's a good time to say thank you and that you care.

You could opt for a folded brochure with printing on four sides. This brochure can be letter size, smaller or larger. This is more expensive to print, but you might consider it if you're going to start by putting out two to four issues a year.

Your personal newsletter will grow and develop. We started with one page of large print that read much like a letter. We now have both sides of a single sheet printed with headlines and categories more like a newspaper or magazine page would look. Sometimes our editor is very wordy and the type gets smaller than it should. Type should be large enough to be read comfortably.

If you don't see your way clear to publish your own newsletter, there are many commercial newsletters available that will print your letterhead and personalize it for you. However, your patients would prefer one with your very own philosophy and style.

Paper

We use a different color of medium-weight paper (60- or 70-pound offset) each month. We use this weight because we print on both sides. If your initial newsletter is printed on one side only, you may want to use 20-pound offset paper to save on the cost.

Frequency

You can publish your newsletter at regular intervals or whenever you complete material you want to share. A good startup frequency is twice a year or quarterly. We began monthly and have stayed with it (although our editor wouldn't mind skipping a month from time to time).

You may want to let patient response dictate the frequency. You'll gradually become aware of your following. Our patients (the ones we hear from) really look forward to it!

Production Costs

We send out approximately 4500 newsletters each month. Until the last several months we paid for typesetting and printing -- about 10 cents per copy.

Now, thanks to a computer-literate new partner, we use desktop publishing and the newsletter is looking very professional. We send camera-ready copy to the printer, and we've cut our cost about 50%.

You could use a copy machine for a few hundred copies when you start and experiment with what you want to produce.

Publishing a newsletter doesn't have to be expensive nor does it have to be complicated. Although our patients were pleased with the newsletter, a few skeptics wanted to make certain that they weren't being charged more to cover the expenses. We assured them that office charges wouldn't increase because of the newsletter and they didn't!

Distribution

"News and Clues" is mailed with our statements to save postage and is available in both of our offices. We also have copies of previous issues on hand.

Another option is "mailed by request." We were so successful that some people deliberately refrained from paying off their accounts in order to continue receiving "News and Clues." When this was called to our attention we quickly initiated the request list. We offer it as a free service, even to families outside our practice and geographic areas. It's great public relations!

You may also want to send your newsletter to other offices, clinics, preschools, radio stations, etc.


Written by Lottie Mendelson, RN, MS, PNP, Pediatric Associates, Portland, OR.
Copyright 1999 Clinical Reference Systems