How does your practice reach potential referring doctors? If you’re not using a physician liaison, you’re not getting what you need. Doctor referrals are some of the best organic marketing strategies for bringing in new healthcare consumers. To ensure you’re receiving as many doctor referrals as possible, you or your physician liaison must be proactive and exercise best practices in professional communications and relationships. Here are several suggestions to help you get started:
Meet & greet
Welcome every new healthcare professional to the area with a personal note or in-person visit.
Build and maintain relationships
If you want doctors to refer their patients to your practice, they must trust your ability to provide exceptional care. Not only that, but they’ve got to like you. Reach out regularly to establish a friendly, professional relationship.
Get involved
Referring physicians are more likely to take notice of your practice, value your skills, and entrust their patients to your care if you’re actively engaged with your community.
Follow up regularly
Thank referring physicians with a phone call or handwritten note, and keep them apprised of the referred patient’s condition and the course of treatment you administered or prescribed. They’ll appreciate the information and your attention to detail, which may also help persuade them to refer additional patients to you.
Keep it simple
Make it easy for doctors to refer their patients to your practice. Keep your contact information on your website, social media accounts, and business cards up-to-date, and have an easy-to-use referral form on your website.
Scale your outreach.
In decades past, it was easy for solo practice specialists to build relationships with referring doctors one-on-one. Today, hospitals and multilocation groups are far too large, and the competition is too great to contemplate just “dropping by with some business cards.” Instead, larger organizations rely on a team of skilled physician liaisons and the right digital marketing tactics to woo referring physicians.
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