It’s safe to say most practitioners enter the health and wellness space with a genuine desire to help people achieve a greater level of health and wellbeing. Following a client consultation or session, it’s common practice to create an action plan (often referred to as a protocol), to educate and guide your clients on how they can achieve their health goals. This can often be the first starting off point for a client to begin their health and wellness journey.

The success of their efforts can be due to both your level of expertise within your field, and how you present information, tools, and resources within a protocol. The way you present the information to the client can determine the likelihood of their follow-through and compliance.

Here are 6 ways to format protocols for greater outcomes:

1. Customize for Each Client

While there will likely be repeat information you share with each client, every protocol should reflect the needs of that particular client. By using targeted questions on their intake form and regularly checking in, you can pay attention to what your client's needs are and how their needs might change over time. The type of resources, information, and support they require will be specific to each individual. Fortunately, there is no need to reinvent the wheel each time. Utilizing a Protocol Template can make sharing commonly used information easy, yet can also be customized for each client. As an added benefit, working from a template will allow for faster delivery time to the client so they can start implementing the recommendations on their protocol immediately.

2. Start With Small Wins and Build From There

Create a base level of information before diving into more complex topics. Meet the client where they are currently at with their health and mindset to avoid going over their head and overwhelming them at the start. Small wins will allow your clients to gain a sense of momentum and motivation to continue taking progressive steps toward their health goals.

3. Give the Client a ‘Why’ Behind Each Recommendation

Providing the rationale behind your recommendation allows your clients to make more informed decisions. Taking action to implement new habits and behaviors can be challenging, but knowing the reasoning behind the action and how they can benefit, will help give your clients the perspective needed to further motivate them to step into change. Focus on educating the client, as an informed client is more likely to follow through on your recommendations.

4. Keep Everything in One Place

There can be many elements involved in a protocol, from meal plans, PDF resources, supplement recommendations, video content, and more. While these resources provide a thorough action plan for your client, requiring them to navigate multiple platforms to access the information can be cumbersome and tedious. Managing all resources in one place allows for a more organized, streamlined experience for the client. There will be no headache of trying to remember where certain parts of the protocol have been delivered or any confusion on how to access their plan. Practice Better allows for protocols to include all elements in one easy-to-access place, mitigating the chance for a frustrating experience.

5. Use a Variety of Formats

It’s important to acknowledge that your clients will likely have different learning styles. From text, to video and graphics, protocols can be formatted to include a variety of different mediums to ensure it is engaging and appeals to each style of learner. Avoid overwhelming amounts of text, since a protocol should not read like a heavy textbook. Instead, text blocks can be broken up with images, videos, graphics, or even a simple line break. You can further organize blocks of text with headers and bullet points to make the information easier to digest. Practice Better includes a variety of formatting tools to allow for a visually appealing and easy-to-read protocol. Protocol creation within Practice Better allows you to include food and lifestyle recommendations, create a supplement schedule, and attach additional documents the client can view or download directly from the protocol. This variety of mediums compiled together provides a thorough and engaging experience for the recipient.

6. Anticipate Obstacles

As practitioners, we know that challenges can arise that can have the propensity to derail a client's momentum. Plan ahead for when circumstances will be less than ideal for your client to follow through on their recommendations. How can they navigate these situations? How can they get back on track, if needed? Clients can feel easily discouraged by an unexpected circumstance interrupting their efforts. By setting their expectations, providing support, and creating an action plan, you will be paving the path to a successful outcome for your client and encouraging them to stay the course when circumstances become challenging.

You’ve got the expertise and the method to take your client’s health to the next level! In addition to this, being able to format your protocol in a way that sets your client up for success is vital to their overall outcome. Tools within Practice Better allow for thorough protocol creation, based on their needs, while still allowing you to streamline your workflow. An approach based on engaging, educational content housed in a conveniently accessible place will set the stage for a successful outcome.

Practice Better is the complete practice management platform for nutritionists, dietitians, and wellness professionals. Streamline your practice and begin your free trial today.