Dentist -Periodontist PDFs...This has nothing to do with perio-restorative relationships, perio-endo challenges, periodontally-assisted orthodontics. It has to do with money. And it

DENTIST -PERIODONTISTManaging the referral relationship

DENTIST -PERIODONTISTYour Question: How do I get GP’s to send me

patients??

DENTIST -PERIODONTIST

1. Join the Military: The military dentists have to send to you.

2. Practice in corporate dentistry:

The Drs in the corp have to send to you.

3. Join Insurance Networks: some patients will come

because your are “In Network.”

4. Work the Referral Process.

5. Market directly to consumers.

HOW DO I GET REFERRALS??

THE BEGINNING

Whether Start Up, Buy a Practice or Associate you must:

Get your paperwork in order

FORMS AND LETTERS- REFERRAL SLIP

THE BEGINNING


Meet the Referring Doctor

THE BEGINNING

FROM DENTALTOWN:

“Go meet them in person, even if its just stopping by the office to

introduce yourself or to leave a card. We have a new perio in the

area. He came by and I met him personally (never met the others in the

area) and now he'll get every perio referral from me. He's spent a lot of

time going to offices, meetings after work, going to bars, etc... and picked up a lot of referrals that way. Same goes for ortho... I've only met

the docs at one office and they get all my referrals.” And……

“Definitely stop by yourself, and ask if the GP wants to do lunch. I'm

always amazed when specialists send referral pads and don't take the

time to introduce themselves. We pitch'em straight in the trash.”

THE BEGINNING



2 Methods:

Just Show up- unannounced

Call to make appointment

Best times- 15 min before day starts or lunch hr or afternoon

THE BEGINNING

Whether Start Up, Buying a Practice or Associate you must:


What do you talk about?

Introduce yourself, summarize your training.

Firm handshake and lots of eye contact.

Always bring a “goody” for their office.

Let them know you are here to serve their practice and patients.

THE BEGINNING

Whether Start Up, Buying a Practice or Associate you must:


What do you talk about?

Ask them where they trained. How long have they been in that

location

Ask them about their prior experiences working with periodontists

(SHUT UP AND LISTEN).

Give them your cell # in case they need you for any perio

emergencies or to get a patient scheduled in a hurry. Write it on the

back of your business card.

Ask them for referrals in closing.

THE 4 REFERRAL METHODS

1. Single Doctor


1. Single Doctor

2. Two or Three


1. Single Doctor

2. Two or Three

3. Full list


1. Single Doctor

2. Two or Three

3. Full list

4. No Name


1. Single Doctor

2. Two or Three

3. Full list

4. No Name

COMMUNICATIONS WITH DENTISTS

Forms and Letters



AL SLIP


i referred you so-and-so and he should be calling you

soon. his main concern is X. restoratively, i'm also

planning on doing Y and Z perio is a concern. we

have a recent FMX if you want his fmx i can send that

over. so-and-so is nice, but can be a PIA at first. we

should be able to get through that. look forward to

hearing your thoughts. dr. somebody


pt cc is #17 for one week. soft tissue impaction w/

pericoronitis. deep pocket distal of 18 with bone loss.

patient anxious and requests sedation. rx'd

amoxicillin, tylenol 3, peridex and

dispensed syringe. please evaluate and treat as

necessary. refer back for continuing care. thank you.


POOR REFERRAL SLIP

what is frustrating is when i get a patient who is a dental or mental disaster that i have no idea is coming and get blindsided....or when the DDS doesn’t have even a rough overall plan in place…. or when the patient has no clue as to why they are in my office.

i like to walk in the initial exam room and already feel like iknow the patient a little bit and have a general sense of what is going on.

In this case your assistant should spend some time taking a history with the patient’s chief complaint.


“ # 3 is problem ”

FORMS AND LETTERS- INITIAL CONSULTATION

FORMS AND LETTERS- POST INITIAL PREP

FORMS AND LETTERS- THERAPY COMPLETION

FORMS AND LETTERS- IMPLANT THERAPY

FORMS AND LETTERS- SPT REPORTS

GP TELEPHONE CONTACT

IMHO- at least 1 telephone contact with each

referring GP per month!

Have a basis for your call…like to discuss a particular

patient.

Exchange pleasantries, show genuine interest in their

lives / practice.

Discuss the patient.

End the call by always thanking them for their referrals


IMHO- at least 1 telephone contact with each referring GP per month!

Keep a data file on each practice / ref dr.

Note date of call and any specifics learned about them or their practice. You want to know their staff’s names, dr’s spouses’ name and occupation, dr’s birthday, dr’shobbies, # of children and names

Use this info in future contacts

THIS IS RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT


IMHO- at least 1 telephone contact with each referring GP

per month!

After your 1 call per month, only call if you have a specific

issue to discuss about a patient.

Practice telephone etiquette:

Try to take calls from referring drs if you are not in surgery (sometimes OK, if you are in sx)

NEVER, EVER have your staff call a ref dr, have them get that

dr on the phone, then go and get you on the phone…RUDE!


Inter Office Staff Communication

First name basis.

Call to request records, if needed.

Call to let their practice know patient has finished tx and to

schedule their first apt with GP. Let them know a Tx letter will

be forthcoming.

Call to ask who GP refers patients to for endo, OS, and orthowhen needed.

Call to let them know if there will be any reason patient will

be delayed in returning to GP’s office.

OTHER GP CONTACT

Go to lunch

Study Clubs

Dental Association Meetings

Continuing Education Events

MORE ON THIS IN THE SEGMENT

ON MARKETING

THE WORLD IS CHANGING

2 Issues

IN HOUSE (in GP’s house) Specialists

Jack of all trades GP’s

GP= your team partner or you competitor


LOS ANGELES AREA EMAIL TO GENERAL DENTISTS

“My name is Marc. I work with a team of friendly specialists in your

neighborhood looking for additional offices to travel to on a monthly

basis. Specialists which include Periodontists, Oral Surgeons,

Endodontists and Orthodontists. Our Specialists are located within an

hour driving distance of your office. They travel with their own

Surgical instruments, Bone Graft Material, Implants from Nobel

Biocare, Surgical motors, and liability insurance. Our Oral Surgeons

all travel with their own AMUS certified experienced chairside

assistants along with their IV sedation meds. All of our specialists

have graduated from US accredited Speciality programs such as UCLA,

USC, Loma Linda and Harvard.” from AAP message boards (next page)


“They all work off an adjustable production basis making it a Win Win

scenario for your patients and your office productions. Insurance

Plans such as Delta will reimburse your office almost twice as much

if not more utilizing the power of a specialists as a rendering

provider under your tax ID. You are most likely throwing away over

100k a year in production being referred out. Isn't it time to

consider bringing in a specialist? The entire Dental Industry is

shifting towards the In House Specialty platform.

Give us a call today for more information.

855-SYNSERG “


Message board response:

“The reality is that the climate we live in provides limited options. There was a time when a recent graduate had their

hometown periodontist clamoring for them to join their practice

to take on the overload. At that time the cost to open up a

practice was significantly less. That was a time when educational debt was significantly less. That was also a time when the

general practices wanted to get perio out of the office. That was

before the altruistic practice management community re-

discovered non-surgical periodontal therapy under the soft tissue

management rock. That was a time when performing surgical

procedures was more about patient benefits than insurance

benefits.”


Message board response:

This has nothing to do with perio-restorative relationships, perio-

endo challenges, periodontally-assisted orthodontics. It has to do

with money. And it has to do with the decreasing level of care

that patients get. If all goes well, a patient treated in this fashion

will be fine. But if they are only seen for one-month follow-ups,

what happens when complications arise? It is not good for

patient care. But, and I see this all the time, it's not about patient

care anymore. It's about money.


What are you going to do about this?

How do you want to practice?

Decide which game you wish to play


My Recommendation:

For now, The Referral Route is best in this area.


Strengthen your referrals with consistent marketing.

Become their “go to” clinician for the following:

Traditional periodontics.

Periodontitis

mucogingival surgery

Aesthetic and functional crown lengthening

Frenectomy

Assisting your restorative dentist goes a long way in building referrals.




Implantology

Site preparation. Extraction and socket graft, sinus grafting,

ridge augmentation.

Immediate implants.

Implant temporization.

Implant maintenance.

Treatment of implant complications.




Occlusal therapy.

Splint therapy.

Occlusal adjustment.

TMJ therapy.




oral pathology.

Diagnosis

Biopsy- Conventional and immunofluorescent

Medical therapy when indicated


My Recommendation:

For now, The Referral Route is best in this area.

Gradually work toward “Periodontist as

“Gatekeeper.


Periodontists should be the first choice for patients

needing complex dental treatment plans.

Who knows better than we how to assign a prognosis?

Who knows better than we how to save teeth?

Who knows better than we went a tooth should be

extracted?

Who knows better than we how to preserve a bone in a

socket?


The problem is patients don’t know it and

dentists will fight it!


You should develop a stealth internal marketing plan

to strategically make your patients think this way.

Develop a practice brochure to give to patients.


You should develop a stealth internal marketing plan

to strategically make your patients think this way.

Develop a practice brochure to give to patients.

Give them your business card

Offer a free consultation


To sum up this section:

The referral process still works with some GP’s and

for specific procedures.

The more you work on internal marketing directly to

patients, the less vulnerable you will be if the GP’s

choose to stop referring.

Documents

Dentist -Periodontist PDFs...This has nothing to do with perio-restorative relationships, perio-endo challenges, periodontally-assisted orthodontics. It has to do with money. And it