Do You Really Know the Dentists and Physicians Who Refer to Your Dental Practice?

If you are one of the many dental specialists who depends on referrals from other dentists and physicians, this question applies to you. Just because you receive an occasional dental patient referral does not mean you have a solid relationship with the referring dentist or physician.

Just like any strong personal relationship, you need to really know something about the other individual. Think about your top five or ten referring dentists and physicians. What do you know about their personal lives? Are they married, and do they have children? What are their favorite hobbies and charities? Are they sports fans? Do you even know their birthdays so you can make a call or send a card?

Moving on from the personal basics, what do you know about their professional practices beyond their locations or telephone numbers? What are the demographics of their practices—older patients, younger patients, wealthy patients, less wealthy patients? Beyond your technical competency, what are their key concerns in making a referral? Are they referring patients to you because you tend to be less expensive or because you and your staff provide top-flight customer service?

Building a strong personal relationship with referring dentists and physicians will maximize the likelihood that referrals will continue. The more you know about your referring health care provider, the easier it is to strike up a conversation and connect on a personal level. The stronger the personal relationship, the more secure the referral relationship. 

Taking this to the next level, the more you know about your referring health care provider’s own practice, the less likely it is that you will “disappoint” your referring dentist or physician. For example, if your referring health care provider has very affluent patients who are used to a certain level of service, you need to know this. One surefire way to stop a flow of referrals is to have patients complain to the referring health care provider that you or your staff did not deal with them in a professional manner. It does not make any difference whether the patient is right or wrong. Perception is reality, and you need to know what a patient expects from your office.

Bottom line: The more you know about the dentists and physicians who refer to you, the more successful you will be in garnering more referrals.