WHY MDs MAY NOT BE REFERRING TO YOU
Chiropractic Care
Dr. Nicole Lindsey
NAVIGATING THE Current Landscape
As we navigate our temporary normal in everyday practice, know that all health care providers and businesses are doing the same. Instead of working on your marketing plan you may find yourself making decisions on more pressing issues:
Keeping up with the statistics in your area.
Changing laws, orders or mandates. Taking the appropriate precautions needed.
Enforcing masks.
Same for the MD
These decisions we make right now can have an impact on your practice and the lives of many people in your community for years to come. This is why it is more important than ever to learn how to effectively form MD relationships. Health care providers are more cautious than ever. So are the many potential new patients that are considering your office. MDs WANT and WILL refer to you if you properly communicate and put them at ease. Let me help you navigate this MD landscape!
HOW YOU HANDLE THESE MOMENTS It Matters
Have you ever received a referral from an MD, treated the patient, gotten great results, only to never receive a referral agin? There are right and wrong ways to handle MD referrals. The communication or lack there of between you and the MD can dictate your relationship moving forward.
What happened? What went wrong?
Knowing the BEST, most appropriate steps to take in ANY situation can make or break the outcome
4 Tips on the Proper Way to Handle MD Referrals
This ebook will help you learn the proper and improper ways to handle MD referrals. Learn 4 tips to properly handle MD referrals. Knowing these tips ill th t leave a lasting positive D and guarantee that you
Properly Handling Your First MD Referral will Determine
Whether or Not You Receive Anymore
You got the referral! Now What
Most medical health care providers communicate with each other through correspondence.
WHAT NOT TO DO...
Scenario 1: MD makes a referral to you Patient comes in You treat Great results! No communication to the MD.
Scenario 2: MD makes a referral to you. Your staff calls to set up appointment. Patient never returns call. You never see the patient. No communication to the MD.
Scenario 3: MD makes a referral to you. Patient comes in. You treat the patient. Patient does not respond well to your treatment You discharge patient or refer out No communication to the MD
In all of these scenarios we see a common denominator. This is the improper way to handle the MD referral, If you do not COMMUNICATE to the MD about the referral, they will never know the status. You also missed out on an important opportunity to have more "touch points" to establish a relationship with the MD by not taking advantage of these opportunities to communicate. DO NOT DROP THE BALL HERE
WHAT TO DO...
Scenario 4: MD makes a referral. Send a fax or email to MD letting him or her know that the patient showed or did not show
If the patient was a no show, how many attempts did your office make to schedule the patient's appointment? Let the MD know! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MY FORM
Tip#2communicate your 1st exam findings to the referring md
Put yourself in the MD's shoes They make a referral to a chiropractor because the patient requested one The MD knows very little about chiropractic and knows even less about the chiropractor The patient was a 10 out 10 on the pain scale and the MD is really concerned because he does not want to see the patient suffer However, the medication he prescribed two days ago didn't touch the pain or the problem Weeks go by and the MD has not heard a thing from the patient This could mean that the patient's problem is resolved, but this may not be the case The MD wonders about the progress of the patient
Has this ever happened in reverse to you? Perhaps you made the referral to an MD or you referred your patient out for an MRI because the patient was not responding
You think about this patient often, you call and leave messages, no response
You're up late at night thinking about this patient, wondering what ever happened to him. It's because we as Chiropractors care. So do the MDs.
When MDs make a referral to you, they want to know what you found. Remember, musculoskeletal problems are not their strength. When you have a referral from an MD, promptly send a note explaining your findings.
1st Exam Note Contents:
Subjective Objective Assessment Plan
Decrease range of motion, posture abnormalities, muscle spasms, trigger points, orthopedic/neurological tests, radiology findings
In a few sentences explain to the MD how your objective findings are causing the patient's symptoms. This is KEY!
Recommendation for care
Healthcare providers are accustomed to sending notes to each other This is their language and if you want to continue receiving referrals, you must speak their language.
Tip#3
Let the md know your recommendation for care
So you have a wellness based practice and you believe that lifetime care is for everyone. In fact, your mission is to adjust away subluxations on all of your patients for the rest of their life! I get it! I love that mission...
The simple fact is you can have a huge wellness based practice and still have relationships with MDs. This is not something you want to communicate to the MD when he initially makes a referral. Let me put it this way, do you think it is acceptable to ask a person on a first date to marry them and that you want to spend the rest of your life with them? Thats a bit much... wouldn't you agree? Keep this in mind when recommending care and communicating this on a note to an MD.
What the MD wants to know is
What is your plan of care/action?
What therapies are you recommending?
Length of care plan/ number of visits
Will there be a reassessment?
What are the specific goals? Do we need to collaborate?
*All of this needs to go i to the MD. They want to be apart of the soluti
Tip#4Communicate the patient's response to care...
the good, the bad, and the ugly
I will never forget Mrs June A local MD, whom I respect greatly referred her to me This was my very first MD referral and I handled her with such great care, making sure she was getting results on each visit. The patient initially experienced great results with her migraines. Then she took a turn for the worse. Mrs. June flipped took out all of her rage and disappointment on me, letting me know that she would be letting the MD know who referred her how bad she was doing under my care. I knew I needed to communicate to the MD before she did, and so that's exactly what I did. I called the Doctor and conveyed the patient's story and progress to care I was so nervous The MD's response to me was, "Oh, that patient Yeah she can turn on a dime, Don't let that upset you Keep doing what you ' re doing if you feel it is helping her and you are making progress. And guess what... I received another referral from that MD later that same afternoon!
If the patient is not responding- PLAN B. Call the MD, collaborate, or potentially recommend another course of action.
*MDs want to know if a patient they refer is not responding, that we will not just keep treating the patient even though their symptoms are getting worse. Instead, formulate another plan!
#True Story
Tip#4
Communicate the patient's response to care... the good, the bad, and the ugly
If the Patient IS responding...
1st Examination Note Should Include:
1. How is this patient doing with respect to their goals?
2. New therapies and the purpose of them.
3. Homework or any exercises/stretches prescribed.
If it is their first referral to you, call the MD and thank them. This is how you begin to form a working relationship with another health care provider.
Let the MD know when the patient is discharged from ACUTE care.
We tend to spend so much time on how to make the initial MD connection that we overlook how important handling the referral is! Every action you take with an MD referral has the potential to greatly impact your practice for years to come!
-Sean Covey
DR. LINDSEY IS A PASSIONATE CHIROPRACTOR ON A MISSION TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE CHIROPRACTIC AND MEDICAL PROFESSION. IN ADDITION TO FULL TIME PRACTICE, DR. LINDSEY FOUNDED DOMINATE CHIROMARKETING, WHERE SHE TEACHES CHIROPRACTORS THE STRATEGIES SHE CREATED TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN PROFITABLE RELATIONSHIPS WITH MDS DR LINDSEY IS AVAILABLE FOR A FREE CONSULTATION SCHEDULE HERE