In my previous two Articles in this series I explained a method of getting new patient referrals by sending a comprehensive narrative report to your patients' primary physician. In this article I'm going to go a bit deeper into what's involved with utilizing this method of new patient procurement.

Many of you, particularly those of you who have been in practice for a long time, have likely built up some relationships with MDs/DOs. But, even if you haven't, if

you go about it correctly, there are ways to obtain regular referrals from MDs/DOs, without taking years to establish those relationships.

This article will cover the actual Reports themselves, what the key ingredients of a good report are, and the various sections of the report and their general sequence.

Steps for Getting MD/DO Referrals

DocWritingLet's start by first reviewing what's involved with getting MD/DO Referrals.

Here are some simple steps to help you build relationships with MDs/DOs. These steps have proven extremely successful, when thoroughly done:

The Steps

Take your usual notes during the initial visit.

Obtain the name and address of the patient's general practitioner.

From the notes, generate a comprehensive, well- written, professionally presented initial report.

Send the report to the general practitioner, with opening and closing comments that explain that you are sending the report as a professional courtesy and to give the doctor the opportunity to ask you any questions about the patient, what you found, your treatement plan, etc.

There must be no hint of solicitation in the report or cover letter.

Follow up on any response.

If the MD/DO refers a patient following a report on an existing patient, make sure you send a similar report of the newly referred patient's initial visit and progress reports.

The Report

The introduction of a report to a patient's general practitioner might read something like this:

"On Feb. 14, 2002, Mr. Smith presented for an initial examination and evaluation of symptoms arising from a motor vehicle accident that he was involved in on Dec. 20, 2001.

I am sending this report to you as a professional courtesy because Mr. Smith is a patient of yours and I would like to give you the opportunity to call if you have any questions."

The report would go on to describe the patient's History, Injury/Onset Description, Initial Complaints, Current Signs and Symptoms, General Physical Examination, Neurological Examination, Orthopedic Examination, Palpation Examination, X-Ray Studies, Assessment/Diagnosis, Prognosis, Treatment, and Closing Comments.

The report would end something like this:

"Many medical doctors have found that chiropractic care is a very effective option for the handling of a number of structural problems underlying various patient complaints. If you would like further information regarding Mr. Smith or chiropractic care in general, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Peter C. Jones, D.C."

Marketing Potential

Let's assume you are currently bringing in 20 new patients per month (through other means of marketing), and you write this type of report for each of these patients after the initial visit.

Let's say that of these 20 reports, only two MDs/DOs respond, with one patient referral each. That's a conservative estimate. We can assume that, being a skilled chiropractor, you do a superb job with the two additional patients referred to you by the two responding general practitioners. That's two MDs/DOs per month that you now have a burgeoning relationship with, a relationship that will potentially result in an increasing number of referrals over time as you produce more and more results for those doctors' medical patients.

You can see that over a period of a year, if you do this type of MD/DO marketing regularly, you could considerably expand your number of new patients. Even those MDs/DOs who do not respond immediately with a referral will likely be impressed by your report, which could help build a foundation for a connection later on. This could also help improve the perception of the chiropractic profession by the medical community over time.

Of course, the key to this marketing approach is the quality and comprehensiveness of the reports that you send to your patients' referring physicians.

And that's where Automated Documentation Systems come in, such as the Report Master system. The quality of the reports, and their comprehensiveness both being vital in this type of campaign, the next question is how long should it take to produce such reports?

Changing Perceptions

If enough chiropractors were to use this marketing technique, it would have the potential to help change the face of relationships between chiropractic and medicine. Patients who might not otherwise receive the chiropractic treatment they need might find their way through your office door, referred by their own general practitioner. And the relationship can be forged fairly quickly, rather than over a period of years.

If you commit to sending a high-quality, professional report to every new patient's general practitioner after your initial examination, chances are very good that the MD/DO referrals will soon follow.

If you don't own an Automated Documentation System yet, check out some of the Testimonials and sample report on the Report Master Web Site, to see what you can do with an automated system.

An Automated Documentation System takes the work out of the Narrative and SOAP Note writing process, so you'll have more time to do the things you would rather be doing, and still maintain the necessary quality in your reports that most MD/DOs demand.

This was the last of three Articles on MD/DO Referrals. If there is anything about narratives or SOAP Notes you would like me to talk about, or if you have any questions about the Automated Documentation Systems, write to me directly.

See you next time when I'll be discussing Medicare Do's and Don'ts, Part One.