Getting business from your primary customer
Getting business from your primary customer
Use these tips to increase referrals from PCPs
The common perception that primary care physicians are the winners in a managed care environment and specialists are losing out doesn’t have to ring true for your practice. Just ask John White, administrator of the six-physician Southwest Asthma & Allergy Associates in suburban Houston. White has helped his practice increase referrals an average of 15% per year for the last four years, despite the common perception that primary care physicians should prefer to treat patients themselves rather than referring patients to specialists.
White’s secret: marketing the practice to primary care physicians, primarily through physician education programs.
Even in markets that allow direct access to specialists, consumers often rely on their family physician for a specialist recommendation, says Matthews Ward, vice president of Richmond, VA-based Med Cap Resources, a managed care consulting firm.
Here are some tips from White and Ward for increasing your practice’s specialty referrals:
1. Develop referral guidelines and protocols. Southwest Allergy & Asthma sought input on referral guidelines from several primary care physicians it receives business from. Then the practice had its own physicians draft referral protocols, which were later reviewed by several major payers the practice contracts with. Some of the primary care physicians Southwest Allergy & Asthma receives referrals from had not been referring patients early enough, which resulted in hospitalizations and other expenses that could have been avoided, says White, whose practice has two capitation contracts. By getting input from primary care physicians up front, the group was able to obtain some buy-in from those physicians.
2. Hold seminars for primary care physicians. White’s practice regularly holds seminars for primary care physicians to explain new treatment protocols and reinforce referral guidelines. Previous seminars also have been used to gain physician input on these guidelines. In some cases, Southwest Allergy & Asthma has secured sponsorship from drug companies to cover the cost of the seminars.
3. Follow up patient referrals with written communications to the primary care physician. The physicians in White’s practice always send a letter to the referring physician after the patient’s initial visit to the practice. Physicians also can use this communication as a chance to reinforce the referral guidelines. "We give both the positive and the negative side of how the referral process was handled," he says. "We’ve had some cases where physicians over-referred, when the patient asked to see an allergist and the primary care physician automatically sent the patient our way without determining whether the need required an allergist." In these cases, the follow-up letter pointed out the error.
4. Whenever possible, follow up the referral with a phone call. Ward says he prefers telephone communications because it’s immediate and provides an opportunity for two-way communication. If possible, call the referring physician while you have the patient in your office to explain the patient’s status. "Saying I’ve got Mrs. Jones with me’ shows that the specialist supports the original patient relationship," he says.
5. Encourage physicians in your practice to interact with other physicians in the community. White encourages physicians in his practice to eat lunch in the cafeteria of the key local hospitals and to accept speaking engagements at professional and consumer groups.
6. Develop a flier or marketing brochure to promote your practice. White had a computer-literate staff member write and design a brochure that includes information on the practice and biographies of each physician. The practice will have the brochures printed out-of-house, and White plans to mail them to approximately 500 primary care physicians in the practice’s six-county service area.
7. Track key referral sources through your practice’s computer system. Most practice management software systems contain fields that allow you to track key referral sources, White and Ward say. Many software systems also will let you track which types of procedures you’re performing as a result of referrals as well. "If you’re a dermatologist and are only getting wart removal cases, you’ll know the more complex procedures are being referred elsewhere," he says.
8. Don’t forget patient satisfaction. Ultimately, at least 40% of referrals still result from word of mouth, White says. Patients will let their physicians and neighbors know if they were treated with courtesy. Southwest Allergy & Asthma hands out a patient satisfaction survey with each visit, and evaluates each department within the practice.
9. Don’t shy away from capitation. Be careful about turning away a capitation contract from a payer with key primary care physician referral sources on the panel, White advises. "There’s a saying that if you’re not willing to accept bad’ patients from another physician, they probably won’t send you their good ones." And by taking on one or two smaller capitation contracts, you can gain experience in working in a capitated environment.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.