Ask Our Experts: Can you provide some tactics to help in redirecting physician referrals back to a hospital out-patient imaging department in a competitive market?
Question: Can you provide some tactics to help in redirecting physician referrals back to a hospital out-patient imaging department in a competitive market when physicians are swayed with gifts and/or money?
--P.S., Radiology
Answer: It has been our experience that while physicians may refer for various reasons, in almost 70% of practice situations the patients are actually being directed by the office staff for imaging services. There are multiple strategies and techniques you can employ to make your center the imaging center of choice for the staff.
1. Give the Referring Office a Better Reason to Refer the Patients to Your Center.
Does your center have a brand or “Unique value” or “Why you” are the best center? Are you educating staff at referring offices about why your center should be their preferred imaging center?
2. Customer Service, Customer Service, Customer Service
Does your staff view the referring physician office staff as their customers? Many outpatient hospital imaging centers have difficulty maintaining referrals from physician offices because the staff does not view their role as needing to provide a very high level of customer service to the physician’s office staff, who are calling to make appointments. Make the staff’s job easier and they will influence the referrals. Never put them on hold. If allowed in your geographic area, do you do all the pre-certifications?
3. Dedicate One Individual to be the Face of the Imaging Center.
Do you have a practice liaison who calls on the staff in referring offices, as a problem-solver and trouble shooter? Give the individual a cell phone and make it the "go to" number anytime any staff is having problems getting a patient scheduled or issued with your center's personnel.
By presenting your “Brand”, a strong reason to choose you, providing the referring staff and patients with a high level of customer service and having a "go to" individual identified as your referring offices' problem-solver you will build loyalty and referrals for years to come.
--P.S., Radiology
Answer: It has been our experience that while physicians may refer for various reasons, in almost 70% of practice situations the patients are actually being directed by the office staff for imaging services. There are multiple strategies and techniques you can employ to make your center the imaging center of choice for the staff.
1. Give the Referring Office a Better Reason to Refer the Patients to Your Center.
Does your center have a brand or “Unique value” or “Why you” are the best center? Are you educating staff at referring offices about why your center should be their preferred imaging center?
2. Customer Service, Customer Service, Customer Service
Does your staff view the referring physician office staff as their customers? Many outpatient hospital imaging centers have difficulty maintaining referrals from physician offices because the staff does not view their role as needing to provide a very high level of customer service to the physician’s office staff, who are calling to make appointments. Make the staff’s job easier and they will influence the referrals. Never put them on hold. If allowed in your geographic area, do you do all the pre-certifications?
3. Dedicate One Individual to be the Face of the Imaging Center.
Do you have a practice liaison who calls on the staff in referring offices, as a problem-solver and trouble shooter? Give the individual a cell phone and make it the "go to" number anytime any staff is having problems getting a patient scheduled or issued with your center's personnel.
By presenting your “Brand”, a strong reason to choose you, providing the referring staff and patients with a high level of customer service and having a "go to" individual identified as your referring offices' problem-solver you will build loyalty and referrals for years to come.
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.