Moment of truth 13 of 13: the reactivation.

Rather than thinking of inactives as being dead to you, imagine your inactives are merely in a dormant stage of their care.

Especially if you realize that few patients are permanently " fixed" from your care and are likely to suffer a relapse in the future. You'd want to keep the door ajar and the welcome mat out. So they return to you, rather than going down the street or giving up on chiropractic.

Keeping in touch with patients during this dormant phase should be informational and inspirational. Periodically connecting with them is a great way to prove you still consider them part of the family. That might include...

• Birthday greetings
• New Year's resolution time
• Meaningful holidays
• Goings on at the practice
• Seasonal health tips

Resist the temptation to include a direct overture to resume care. They're well aware of what you do and how you've helped in the past. If they need you, they'll call you.

Trust them.

Bill Esteb has been a chiropractic patient and advocate since 1981. He is the creative director of Patient Media and the co-founder of Perfect Patients. He’s been a regular speaker at chiropractic gatherings since 1985. His 12 books explore the doctor/patient relationship from a patient's point of view. His chiropractic blog, in-office consultations, patient focus groups and consulting calls have helped hundreds of chiropractors around the world. Since 1999 Monday Morning Motivation has been emailed to over 10,000 subscribers each week.