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.
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