Develop your protocol.
You’ve built your referral tracking infrastructure and stratified your database. Now, lay out the expectations for how you and your team will serve your referring physicians:
- Call and/or send a personalized thank-you within 24-48 hours.
- Determine patient referral access time.
- Review policies/systems for communicating back.
- Be as service-oriented as possible.
- Commit to report turn-around time.
- Review your discharge communication. Make sure it meets everyone’s needs.
This is the tough part. You and your staff must be consistent. It should be a well-oiled machine. And if you make a mistake, own it and communicate proactively.