Great practices are built around systems that (1) foster customer or patient retention, (2) build expert/special status for the product or providers and (3) generate referrals. We are not talking about esoteric or creative exercises to “try out”. These are standard operating procedures; a way of running a practice that becomes proprietary.

In working with practices to increase their efficiency and income I’ve identified what I believe are the 4 most important processes in practice building.

I don’t mean to invalidate any other methods. However, these four strategies combined garner the most potent improvements for the least cost. Particularly since all of them can be entirely outsourced. Outsourcing frees up the physician’s most valuable resource: their time.



Here’s the “Dream 4”

1. Monthly patient newsletter done the way I teach it.

2. Interactive direct response website with autoresponders focused on patient education.

3. A referral system recognizing and reinforcing your best patient referral sources.

4. Direct coaching on coding and documentation to protect you from third party audits while ensuring you collect what you have earned.

Let’s go into more depth on referral systems. Studies have been done on the buying behavior of the average consumer. They are actually very analogous to how patients select services from medical professionals.

When the average consumer needs to buy something, be it a new set of tires for their Minivan or a pool cleaning service or medical services, there is a built in hierarchy of choice of vendor:

1. About 60% of the time, they buy from whomever they last dealt with

2. About 30% of the time they use the recommendations of friends, family and coworkers

3. About 10% of the time, they look to the advertisements around them, and yellow pages and Valpack are often the media of first choice

Therefore it only makes sense to spend your time and energy communicating with existing or inactive patients and referral sources. So why does everyone spend their time energy and money communicating with a public that knows little to nothing about them?



Referral Systems

Although this portion on referrals is written for generalists, contact my office to receive a copy of the companion article written for specialists only.

According to sales guru Joe Girard everyone has the capacity to generate 52 referrals. Girard bases his figure on the fact that 52 is the average number of attendees at weddings and funerals. Yet most practices at best average between one and three referred patients from each existing patient (called their referral ratio). The majority average less than one! The low average is based on the fact that 80% of practices don’t even know what a referral ratio is let alone what theirs is or how to improve it.

Often referrals don’t happen as they should because providers are reluctant to ask for them. I don’t know why this is. It could be shyness, fear of rejection or fear of seeming needy or greedy. But that doesn’t matter. Here’s what does…

You don’t have to ask for referrals personally. I never do and I get a huge number of new patient referrals. It can and should be done automatically without your active participation. It can be done both silently, through your newsletters, via office signs, and with your three step new patient letter campaigns. Requests for referrals should be solicited by your staff when patients check in, check out, or call for information.

Again, to make this work you don’t have to ask your patients for their referrals. Your role is to oversee an orchestrated system for training your staff, building referral requests into your patient contacts and then rewarding patients for their referrals.

The details of the autopilot referral systems we operate for our coaching clients are beyond the scope of this article. For now I want to emphasize that this process alone can double your practice in a very short time. Every practice needs referral systems.

An aside: I teach my coaching clients 10 different referral strategies. I insist they have at least 2 of them working at all times.



Double Dipping

Although your patient newsletter is primarily a retention strategy, it is also a great way to source referrals. While you build the relationship with patients, you casually and non-threateningly remind them that you are open to selected patient referrals. Practices typically enjoy a sustained 20% increase in visits when doing this.



Dr. David Zahaluk is a practicing physician and the founder of “Maximum Income for Physicians,” a coaching and consulting group for physicians only that offers innovative solutions to practice marketing and staff development. Visit the MIP website at www.UltimatePracticeBuilder.com. This website offers several free services, including practice-building tips, a diagnostic tool to identify what type of practice you have, and a free “Make My Practice Work Harder Than I Do” individual practice evaluation.



Look for Dr. Zahaluk’s new book, “The Ultimate Practice Building Book” on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and Borders.com.

David Zahaluk, M.D
NPMA Director of Practice
Development
800-297-0711
zahaluk@ultimatepracticebuilder.com

Click here for a PDF of this article

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