14

Just because a physician has referred patients to you once does not guarantee that the physician will use you again. Getting the initial referral is half the battle. The other half is maintaining good relationships with referring doctors so that you do not get lost in the shuffle. Here are five friendly ways to maintain existing physician referrals.

1. Enhance the referring physician's image. The biggest faux pas a doctor can make is insulting another

    doctor. Whenever you can, try to compliment the referring physician to the patient. If a patient lets

    you know that they had a satisfactory experience during their visit with you, tell the patient to let the

    referring doctor know. Remember, if the experience was a negative one, it reflects poorly on you and

    the referring doctor.

2. Invite the referring physician to one of your seminars. What better way to increase the doctor's

    exposure in the community than by giving them an outlet to gain more patients. This is also a great

    way to further educate the referring physician in your field of practice and in any advancements that

    have been made.

3. Always remember the referring physician's staff. Almost as important as the doctors themselves,

    the staff is often the link between you and the referring physician. If you need to call the referring

    physician's office, be cooperative and pleasant. Try to remember the names of the office staff for a

    more personal touch. The referring doctor will appreciate the courtesy.

4. Make sure you are easily accessible. A great way to ensure that you and your staff are easy to

    contact is to provide a brightly colored Rolodex card. On the card, print your name, telephone and

    private numbers, office hours, answering service number and the names of important office staff

    members in case they are requested by the referring physician. Not only will this card stand out from

    the rest, it will immediately provide the referring physician and his or her staff with the information

    they need.

5. Use a newsletter to update physicians on the latest research in your field. Not only is this

    informative, it is a great way to keep your name in front of the referring doctor on a regular basis.

    These days, you can have newsletters customized with your name and practice information. It's an

    easy tool for making sure that your referring physicians, and future referring physicians, always

    remember you.

As you can see, simplicity is the key. You do not have to inundate your referring physician with tremendous words of praise or expensive gifts. As long as you are considerate, courteous and cooperative, your referring physicians will continue to consider you as part of their network of specialists.