If you're like most chiropractors, you're always looking for new sources of patient referrals. Believe it or not, there are MDs/DOs out there who are looking for the types of solutions you have to offer - but first you have to let them know what you're all about. The best part is, it's not as difficult to connect with these doctors as you might think. Of course, those of you who have been in practice for a long time have inevitably built up some relationships with MDs/DOs, but if you go about it the right way, there are ways to obtain regular referrals from MDs/DOs without taking years to establish a relationship.



So what are some of the different ways to obtain these referrals? Some chiropractors send out a newsletter specifically geared to MDs/DOs in and around their communities. Others choose to build one-on-one relationships with MDs/DOs, even if only on a social level, to begin with. Chances are, there are other approaches as well, limited only by one's imagination.

The method we'll discuss in this article and in later issues of this article, is based on sending your patients' MDs/DOs, as a professional courtesy, comprehensive narrative reports about their patients who have also become your patients.

MDs/DOs, ever since they went to medical school, have become accustomed to reading professional reports and papers. If a general practitioner receives a clear, well-written comprehensive narrative report about one of his or her patients, the chances are very high that it will be read.

This is not the same as sending a follow-up report to an MD/DO who has already referred a patient to you. Obviously this is vital too, but that is not necessarily a method of obtaining new referrals.

The approach we're addressing here consists of, after procurring a new patient by your usual means, and after your initial examination, finding out who the patient's general practitioner/family doctor is, and sending that doctor a report of your own origination, unsolicited and unexpected.

The narrative report should be well-written, its presentation flawless. It should be extremely patient-specific. It should explain, in terms that are familiar to the MD/DO, what you found in examining this patient, what types of evaluation/tests you carried out, what steps you are taking to remedy the situation, and what results you've seen already and expect to see as the treatment plan progresses.

Fortunately, there are a number of software programs, including Report Master, that will 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.

After all, you didn't become a chiropractor to be stuck behind a computer, struggling through the sometimes grueling process of documenting everything you've done with regards to your patients' care.

In our next Newsletter, I'll go over the Steps, in much greater detail, for Getting MD/DO Referrals. In the meantime, if you don't yet own Report Master, check out the Testimonial page of our web site at http://www.reportmaster.com/reviews , to see what others are saying about the Report Master Software.