How to get more patient referrals?

[painpa24]

Hello everyone, as a starting physician I had some questions regarding getting new patient referrals:

1. What are the best ways to increase your patient referrals?

2. How much time do you spend marketing yourself to other doctors? Do you use any websites/online communities, or just in person?

3. What are the specialties that generally refer to you?

Thank you so much for your help!

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[Smurfette]

Hello everyone, as a starting physician I had some questions regarding getting new patient referrals:

1. What are the best ways to increase your patient referrals?

2. How much time do you spend marketing yourself to other doctors? Do you use any websites/online communities, or just in person?

3. What are the specialties that generally refer to you?

Thank you so much for your help!

It would help if you said what your specialty is, what you want to do and what you are willing to do to build a referral base, and what is your practice situation (how many partners, private/academic, multispecialty group, etc.)?

 

[doc05]

As above. Also important to know your environment and understand the existing referral patterns.

 

[cpants]

One of the best ways is to improve communication with referring doctors, especially if you aren't that busy. After you see a new patient, pick up the phone and call the doctor. "I saw Mr. Smith for his elevated PSA and we are going to a prostate biopsy. Just wanted to keep you in the loop." This takes 30 seconds, and is VERY much appreciated. If your EMR doesn't do it for you, make sure that your office staff sends every single note to the referring provider/PCP.

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

One of the best ways is to improve communication with referring doctors, especially if you aren't that busy. After you see a new patient, pick up the phone and call the doctor. "I saw Mr. Smith for his elevated PSA and we are going to a prostate biopsy. Just wanted to keep you in the loop." This takes 30 seconds, and is VERY much appreciated. If your EMR doesn't do it for you, make sure that your office staff sends every single note to the referring provider/PCP.

I understand your general point but just imagine as a PCP if every single referring doctor called you. You'd never be able to see any patients. I make sure my notes are sent to the referring docs and call them if there are any really unexpected findings (i.e. a carcinoma that no one had anticipated). I find that this approach, combined with being pleasant to the patients, results in good referrals. The PCP knows from the pt report if you are a jerk or someone they want to keep sending patients to.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

One of the best ways is to improve communication with referring doctors, especially if you aren't that busy. After you see a new patient, pick up the phone and call the doctor. "I saw Mr. Smith for his elevated PSA and we are going to a prostate biopsy. Just wanted to keep you in the loop." This takes 30 seconds, and is VERY much appreciated. If your EMR doesn't do it for you, make sure that your office staff sends every single note to the referring provider/PCP.

As a PCP, don't call me after every new patient. Neither of us have time for that.

Here is what you can do:

1. Make sure I get notes. There is little in medicine that makes me angrier than a patient comes back from surgery that I didn't know they were having.

2. Be easy to reach when I call. 9 times out of 10 its a question about whether you can help a patient I'm thinking of sending to you. Answering my calls will cut down on useless referrals substantially.

3. Be nice to the patients. Who I refer to reflects on me. If the patients don't like you, I will stop referring to you.

4. Don't take 4 weeks to get my patients in for appointments.

 

[filter07]

To me it's all about how easy it is to get something done. When I consult someone, I like to just have their direct number to call any time. I don't want to hear any stuff about "I'm not on call today" or page their office and wait for a call back. And of course they have to do a good job too.

Availability, affability, ability, in that order. The old adage is true.

 

[MediCane2006]

Lots of good advice here. @filter07 ’s advice about affable/available/able was spot on.

I have given talks at the family med society meetings, presentations at some of the big medical clinics (lunch-and-learn events), and have just done face-to-face visits with PCP’s who send me patients. And I’ve gone to a ton of community events, health fairs, tailgates, charity walks, etc.

In general I try to make sure that the big referring docs have my phone number, can get their patients scheduled quickly (and can call me personally if they don’t, so I can overbook their patient), and overall feel like they can call me anytime even for stupid stuff. It’s also important to keep PCP’s in the loop about patients they send you...this is a feature of EPIC I am only now really using fully.

And finally, happy patients are the best advertisement. One of my local PCP’s was telling me the other day how every patient she sends to me comes back raving about how great their experience was. Guess who now has a referral pipeline from that doc?