How to Build A Physician Referral Program (Q2 2017)-How to Build A Physician Referral Program (Q2 2017)

How to Build A Physician Referral Program (Q2 2017) - Article

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Physicians often refer patients to specialists for specialized care. Hearing aid specialists have the opportunity to be included on a physician's referral list by developing partnerships in patient care with primary care physicians. To form an alliance with physicians, hearing healthcare professionals should understand a physician's primary considerations, which includes providing effective treatments and medications. Patient engagement is also important, as engaged patients tend to be healthier and have better outcomes. Hearing aid specialists can enhance patient engagement by improving communication between physician and patient through the use of hearing aids. By providing testing and treatment for at-risk patient populations, hearing healthcare professionals can reduce the incidence of depression in patients with untreated hearing loss. This is significant because depression is a risk factor for non-compliance with medical treatment. Hearing aid specialists can also provide educational materials to physicians on the various lifestyle-related co-morbid conditions that are risk factors for hearing loss. Additionally, they can provide patient education materials about hearing loss in different languages to reach a broader population. When implementing a physician referral program, hearing aid specialists should engage in some internal marketing first, ensure that their practice mission is well-defined, and communicate it to their staff. They should also create a list of primary care physicians in their area to target and send out a letter of introduction before making cold call visits. It is also important to build relationships with referral coordinators, medical assistants, and clinic managers, and conduct monthly tele-marketing campaigns to physicians. Lunch and Learn sessions can also be organized to educate receptionists and medical assistants about the services offered by hearing aid specialists. Ultimately, by working collaboratively with physicians, hearing aid specialists can improve patient outcomes and provide better hearing healthcare.

Keywords

physicians

specialists

referral list

patient care

primary care physicians

patient engagement

hearing aids

depression

educational materials

physician referral program