One of the main goals of this
software is to show you how our referral sources think. We touch on this
issue in almost every sections because it is the most important
factor to your success. There is a great deal input from general dentists in
this software that will allow you see the other side (the side you are trying to
please) from a much clearer perspective.
We continuously strive to setup our practice in a way that is
appealing to our referral sources. Our systems and marketing tactics are
based on what we assume our referring GPs want. But are our assumptions
correct? How accurate
are we in matching their ideal with what we have to offer? For specialists
who have previously practiced as general dentists it is much easier to
understand the GP's side of the story. However, it can be far more
complicated for those who went directly went from dental school into a specialty program.
Regardless of your
background, it is imperative you understand your referrer’s point of view when it
comes to dealing with your practice. This is the only way you can improve
your performance and reputation as far as they are concerned. The "Referral
Test" is a valuable tool in answering these questions in more detail. Before
you perform the test, there are a few facts you should know:
Who Are Your Referral Sources?
If you don't know
the answer to this question you are in trouble. How can you market your
practice if you don't know who to market it to? I'm not just talking about
knowing the names of a few practices in your neighborhood. I'm talking about
having full profiles for each referral source and potential referral source,
from the names
of the doctors and staff to the dental schools attended and years of
graduation, and everything in between. Remember that information is power. Review the "Marketing"
section for tools to setup your database and create profiles for your referral sources.
How Do GPs View Your Services?
To
be able to
efficiently deal with our referral sources, we need to understand how they
view our services in their minds. For example, if we think we are providing a
valuable service to our GP colleagues and expect some appreciation from
them, while they see us as existing at their mercy, it could pose a
major challenge when it comes to communicating with them.
Although
a lot of GP offices have a good relationship with their specialists, there
is a fundamental issue we have to take into account. Contrary to most other business
relations, this one is a one-sided relationship. In other words, a
general dentist has no financial incentive to send us patients. In the
medical world, we do a lot of things without asking for financial
reimbursement, but we should admit that in the majority of cases, the
efficiency of the action may not be as good as we expect when there is
absolutely no financial return.
Let me put it a
little more bluntly; in the mind of a lot of GP offices, particularly their
staff, dealing with specialty offices is just a hassle and means unnecessary
extra work.
This is work that they are not reimbursed for. This has gotten even worse with
the spread of HMO plans, for which GP offices have to go through a preauthorization
process whenever they refer patients to a specialist. Moreover, they
are often penalized if the referral does not meet the insurance companies’
specific guidelines!
Considering these
facts, if you really put yourself in a GP's position, you can understand
that we
are the only party here that can create at least a moral incentive for GPs
to go through the headache of referring a patient to us.
Now I admit that
this may not be fair, but it is reality. If we do not make every effort to
reduce the burden of paperwork and extra work for referral sources, and if
we do not strive to create a pleasant experience for the GP
offices and their patient during this transition, you can be sure the first
victim of any unhappiness will be your practice.
You and your staff
must acknowledge the fact that in some cases, you may come across bad attitudes
when dealing with GP offices. Although it may not seem reasonable, it is
understandable that after a full day's work, a tired staff
member may not like the idea of having to send you
another x-ray because you lost the first one!
Regardless of the
circumstances, in
all our communications and interactions with GP offices we must keep in
mind that from their point of view, they are doing us a favor
by referring us patients and taking care of the paperwork in the process.
A lot of us consider opening our
own practices as a means to gain independence and to be our
own bosses. Despite this, you have to realize is no matter how successful you
are, your referral sources are your customers and your customers are your
bosses. It is crucial to your practice's success that you accept the
nature of this relationship as part of the business.
In the meantime, do your best to reduce your dependency on the GP offices by
emphasizing excellent customer service and patient care, which in turn produces direct patient
referrals.
How Do Our Referral Sources Select Us?
In order to successfully
market your practice to referral sources, you must first know how they
arrive at the decision to send a patient to you.
Here
are some
factors they look at:
-
Quality of the care their patients will
receive
-
Convenience to their patients
-
How the image of your practice reflects on
them
-
The experience they had with you and your
staff
-
Whether you accept their
patients' insurance plans
1.
Quality of the care their patients will receive.
How GPs judge your
clinical skills is thoroughly explained in the referral test articles.
Remember that although a GP is a dentist and you
expect them to have a realistic opinion of your skills, there are a number
of factors that contribute to their perception, which cannot be
ignored.
2.
Convenience to their patient.
This is a key
issue, because although it may be medically necessary, patients consider it
an inconvenience when they have to go to another office. General dentists want to make this experience as smooth as
possible, so your office location is a major part of their decision.
3. How
the image of your practice reflects on them.
When someone refers
a patient to you, he/she is putting his reputation on the line. Any GP who refers
a patient
to a specialist hopes for at lease a thank you from the patient. This is only
possible if you succeed in surpassing the patient's expectations, and impress
him enough to give positive feedback when he goes back to his GP.
In general, whenever
patients are sent to a "specialist" they naturally expect a
better office with a more skillful doctor. They also expect a more professional
staff and overall an advanced practice. Now, if your referring
dentist has a mediocre office and staff, your job is easy.
On the other hand, if he/she is running a great practice with exceptional
customer service, patients will inevitably expect more from you. For this
reason it is imperative setup your practice to exceed even your best referral sources'.
4.
The experience they had with you and your staff.
Going back to what I
mentioned about the general perception GPs have regarding specialty offices, their
expectations are very high. This leads to people getting disappointed with you very
quickly. Since you are dealing with a small pool of professionals, your
margin for error is also smaller. Considering
this, you must ensure that every interaction involving the GP and his office is
conducted with their satisfaction at the top of the list.
5.
Whether you accept their patients' insurance plans
If you take
HMO plans, this is more commonly a deciding factor. In this regard, let's
talk a little about how you decide which plans to accept. When
selecting contracts to sign with insurance companies, we tend to mainly
focus on their reimbursement fees. Most of us set limits for our main
procedures; if the rates offered are less than these amounts we won't sign with that
company.
Here are two
significant factors we often overlook:
1. How
many other specialists are on that plan?
Let's say there is a
plan that pays 10% less than your limit, but is not contracted with any other specialists in your area. In a situation
such as this, signing with that plan may be wise because it can bring you an
influx of new patients. Also keep in mind that you can eventually re-negotiate your rates
once the specific plan realizes the
quality of care you provide for the patients is worth it.
2.
Which insurance plans do your main referrals source accept?
Let's say you have
two or three GP offices that refer to you most frequently. At the same time, you
are not contracted with two of the plans they take, plans that over 30% of
their patients use. If this is the case, you are basically inviting them to refer
this group of patients to someone else, and it is often just a matter of time
before those GPs give up sending you patients
altogether because of this inconvenience. They get tired of having to check which plan you take
every time they have a patient to refer, so they end up sending
the patients to the doctor who takes them all.
What I recommend is
making strategic decisions. Evaluate which plans your
main referral sources take, and try to match your contracts with them as
closely
as possible. Although you have to consider other factors when selecting
contracts, deciding solely based on the prices is not a very smart move.
Keep in mind that you can
always discontinue unfavorable contracts in the future.
Knowing your
customers is essential to any business' success. Specialists have two
types of customers, direct (patients) and indirect (referral offices); both
are equally vital to your success.
