What do your referring physicians really think about you and your practice?
Have you ever asked?
One of the first things we recommend when working with a new client is that they allow us to interview some of their referral sources — both their top referrers and a few who perhaps don’t refer as much as the practice would like them to. We ask the client to contact the referral sources first to seek permission and open the door for us to contact them. This approach allows us to have open conversations with these referring physicians, asking them about their experiences and opinions with the practice — the good, the bad and the ugly. And the result is honest feedback and recommendations that we can take back to our client to help them improve.
You can’t fix problems you don’t know exist. It takes a certain amount of bravery to ask the tough questions, be open to the responses, and most importantly, be willing to make the necessary changes to improve. However, the result of investing time and energy in this process is better referral relationships that can only serve to strengthen your practice.