Increasing Business Through Referrals from Other Physicians

How to get referrals from other physicians isn’t a topic that is commonly written about, yet it happens every day. Of course, specialists depend on referrals from other doctors, but primary care doctors need to consider other physicians as a reliable source of new patients also.  Many primary care physicians are content with the occasional referral from their doctor friends.  Few primary care doctors think of other doctors as a consistent source of new patients, but physician referrals should not be overlooked as one of the top three ways to build your practice affordably. There is no shame in wanting or needing more patients and you should not be hesitant about making your desires known in this area. Pediatricians and obstetricians are one example of physicians helping each other build their practices. Many other specialties benefit from similar symbiotic relationships.

Though it may sound oversimplified, when you make the decision to increase new patient visits by physician referrals, you will find that opportunities present themselves readily.  Many doctors assume that their peers are thriving and do not need referrals, so you need to relieve them of this misperception. Once you adopt the right mindset, you will notice numerous opportunities in your conversations with other physicians to mention your desire for new patients. 

How you go about spreading the word to your fellow physicians depends on how active you are in participating in social and professional gatherings with your peers.  If you frequently attend social functions with other physicians, you probably won’t need to do much else other than take advantage of the opportunities that are already available to you. 

If you are not as actively involved with your peers, you may have to stretch your comfort zone a bit.  The best way to do this is to simply begin by interacting more with other physicians in your building or facility whom you do not know very well.  Making conversations in the elevator is a basic example of how to do this. Just start, and opportunities will present themselves.

The best way to broach the topic is to approach referrals from the other direction.  A great method is to seek first to provide referrals to other physicians.  Ask questions of your peers to understand their specialty and what constitutes an ideal patient for them, and make it clear that you are ready, willing, and able to send referrals their way, and let them know that you will do so when the opportunity arises. 

Your peers will often then turn around and ask you the same questions so they are best prepared to send you referrals.  Don’t be shy about letting them know you are trying to build your practice and use the word “appreciate” when you mention the idea of referrals.

There are two other things you should keep in mind.  First, do not take your physician referrals for granted. If someone has been consistently sending you referrals, schedule some time to send them a thank you note, or take them to lunch or treat to a round of golf, or something similar.  Let them know you appreciate the referrals and let them know how helpful it has been to you.  And of course, return the favor whenever you can. The more generous you are with referrals, the more you will receive. 

Conversely, if you are consistently sending someone referrals, and they are not returning the favor, don’t be afraid to start sending those referrals to another physician who will return the favor.  Your referrals are valuable, like cash gifts, and you are under no obligation to give out referrals to someone who doesn’t understand their value or appreciate them.

The Art of Creating an Effective Websites for Physicians (part 3 of 3)

The previous two articles in this series discussed the basic reasons for why every doctor should have an internet presence with a website. They also discussed how the practice website can be an extremely effective marketing tool to bring in new patients, and to get existing patients to come back more often, and for higher dollar services. Read more

How to Get More New Patients from Existing Patient Referrals

Every physician wants to get new patients easily and affordably, without a lot of effort. Getting new patients via referrals from existing patients is a relatively low-effort way to generate more money from your practice. People like to give referrals to service providers that they are very pleased with. And people to tend to interact with other people who are much like them. So it stands to reason that your best patients will refer other excellent patients. Read more

The Importance of Websites for Recruiting New Patients – Part 2 of 3

When it comes to getting new patients and increasing revenues, most doctors don’t think of their website as an important tool. In fact, many doctors don’t bother with a website at all, and the ones that do commonly put up a “generic site” that doesn’t contribute at all to the bottom line health of the medical practice as a business. I have found that this is based on some misconceptions about the role and function of the Internet when it comes to providing medical services. Read more

Why Every Private Medical Practice Should Have a Website (part 1 of 3)

Five years ago, if you asked me if a website was mandatory for physicians, I would have said “no”. But times have changed. Now, I believe every doctor should have a website.

Here’s why:Websites play several very important roles in your practice. At the most mundane end of the spectrum, a website provides patients or potential patients with your critical contact information, hours, directions, maps, etc. This is convenient for the patient, and helps reduce the number of repetitive calls that come in to your front desk or receptionist.

More importantly, a website can help offload many of the common tasks that your staff performs Read more

What's in a Name?

Deciding your new practice’s name is an important task, and one you need to accomplish as one of your first practice start-up steps. I found the job surprisingly difficult. I’ve started two practices in my life and my first one was eponymous, with a “P.C.” tacked on the end. That was a big mistake Read more

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