Ask Our Experts: What can we do for referrals under the new guidelines?
Question: My friend is the director of a PT program at a small hospital in northeastern PA who is in direct competition with larger health system hospitals. Their marketing department is almost non-existent and doesn't do much to help them, however the hospital wants more referrals. Under the new guidelines (I'm unaware whether it's a state or federal guideline), what are they allowed to do to gain referrals and market in the community? Are they allowed to hand out items and if so where? Can they do advertising? Can they provide things like t-shirts to existing patients?
Answer: While Practice Builders is aware of new guidelines affecting drug and device manufacturers and regulating the value of material or branded material that may be given by them to doctors’ offices (for example, no more pens), we are not aware of any specific new regulations affecting professionals seeking referrals from other professionals.
Our recommendations for tactics to gain professional referrals is not through gifting or the “old school” cookies and bagel runs, but rather through having a practice liaison that calls on existing referrers and potential new referrers and interacts directly with staff in these offices.
In our experience 70 - 80% of patients are being referred or “controlled” by the staff; the doctor is saying “this patient needs physical therapy” and then the staff suggests or recommends who the PT might be.
By having your liaison calling directly on the “referral coordinator’, “office manager”, “nursing assistant” or just a staff member who handles this, you will increase referrals.
The focus of this contact needs to be on three areas:
The first and most important is making that person’s job as easy as possible as it relates to referring patients to the PT clinic.
The second is in communicating your “Unique Value Position” or “Why You” as the best PT clinic to care for their patients.
Last but not least, of course you want to give these patients excellent care and services and ask them to tell the doctors and staff at the referring offices how happy they are with your care.
Gone are the days in busy referral offices where pens or cakes and cookies will secure consistent loyal referrers; today it is all about customer service with the referring offices and patients.
Marketing expert Jonathan Vidal, Senior Director, Consulting Services, for Practice Builders, answered this question. Mr. Vidal is a former senior director of marketing for Endocare, Inc., a medical device company, and a former director of marketing for Circon-ACMI, the largest producer of medical endoscopes.
Answer: While Practice Builders is aware of new guidelines affecting drug and device manufacturers and regulating the value of material or branded material that may be given by them to doctors’ offices (for example, no more pens), we are not aware of any specific new regulations affecting professionals seeking referrals from other professionals.
Our recommendations for tactics to gain professional referrals is not through gifting or the “old school” cookies and bagel runs, but rather through having a practice liaison that calls on existing referrers and potential new referrers and interacts directly with staff in these offices.
In our experience 70 - 80% of patients are being referred or “controlled” by the staff; the doctor is saying “this patient needs physical therapy” and then the staff suggests or recommends who the PT might be.
By having your liaison calling directly on the “referral coordinator’, “office manager”, “nursing assistant” or just a staff member who handles this, you will increase referrals.
The focus of this contact needs to be on three areas:
The first and most important is making that person’s job as easy as possible as it relates to referring patients to the PT clinic.
The second is in communicating your “Unique Value Position” or “Why You” as the best PT clinic to care for their patients.
Last but not least, of course you want to give these patients excellent care and services and ask them to tell the doctors and staff at the referring offices how happy they are with your care.
Gone are the days in busy referral offices where pens or cakes and cookies will secure consistent loyal referrers; today it is all about customer service with the referring offices and patients.
Marketing expert Jonathan Vidal, Senior Director, Consulting Services, for Practice Builders, answered this question. Mr. Vidal is a former senior director of marketing for Endocare, Inc., a medical device company, and a former director of marketing for Circon-ACMI, the largest producer of medical endoscopes.