You’ve heard it said before that communication is key.

In fact, after clinical skill, communication is the #1 request by referring doctors for their specialty counterparts.

While some practices do this better than others, everyone can stand to improve communication, especially with referring partner practices.

A Wall Street Journal article citing research from the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that more than 69% of primary care physicians said they always or mostly passed on a patient’s history and reason for consultation, while fewer than 35% of specialists reported always or mostly receiving that information.

Conversely, 81% of specialists report they always or usually send consult results back to the referring doctor but only 62% of those doctors said they received the information.

Often times, what we think we’re communicating isn’t even (1) being communicated at all or (2) being received by the intended party.

Clearly, there is room for improvement.

Recently, we’ve been talking about the Ten Key Drivers of Exponential Referral Network Growth.

Key Growth Driver #3 is Seamless Communication.

Hundreds of books have been written about communication; communication between men and women (remember Mars and Venus?), non-verbal communication, cross-cultural communication, and the list goes on and on. Communication is a broad term that can encompass many different things.

In this article, we’ll focus our efforts specifically on communication between specialty providers and their referring partners.

🔑 Here are 5 keys (and a few hacks) to unlocking better communication with your referral network:

🔑 Provide routine patient status updates.

Provide referring physicians with timely updates of consultation findings and treatment recommendations. Let them know how their patient is doing and when they can expect to see the patient back in their office. 

Communication Hack #1:

Maximize EMR features to quickly and securely send exam notes or other communication to referring providers.

🔑 Offer accessibility and availability to your referring partners.

Don’t let referring doctors get lost in a complicated phone tree or stuck on hold for 20 minutes. Make yourself available to referring partners. Do they know how to contact you? Do you make it easy for them to reach you or share relevant clinical information?

Communication Hack #2:

Share your direct contact information or mobile number with referring providers so they can easily reach you for questions or in the event of an emergency.

🔑 Deliver practice updates.

Regularly communicate practice updates, policy changes, new technology or procedure offerings, and other useful information to referring providers. Set a weekly or monthly cadence to communicate with referral partners. 

Communication Hack #3:

Leverage technology to communicate practice updates via text or email blast.

🔑 Follow up.

Check in with referring doctors and staff to ensure they are receiving the information you are sharing. Let them know how you are sending the information (EMR, fax, secure email) and where they can find it. All too often communication gets “lost” when it’s really just sitting on a fax machine waiting for someone to find it and look at it (yes, this still happens in 2021).

Communication Hack #4:

Identify a key team member to handle all of the correspondence with referring practices. Having a point of contact strengthens the relationship with referring offices and streamlines communication between practices.

🔑 Simplify the referral process.

Make the referral process as seamless as possible. I’ve seen practices require large amounts of specific paperwork and narrow processes just to accept a referral. Cumbersome “rules” deter referrals. While the intentions may be good, these “rules” convey how not to work with your practice. Gratefully accept the referral whichever way it comes. This is a patient you would not have the privilege of caring for otherwise.

Communication Hack #5:

Simplify the referral process with an online referral portal.

Specialty practices who communicate best with their referral partners enjoy stronger referral relationships and more referrals.

Communication is the key to more referrals. ????

Contact us if you’re ready to learn more or let us know how you like to communicate with referring offices.