Health practitioner referrals are an essential part of an upper cervical practice. As an Upper Cervical Specialist you focus on correcting the upper cervical subluxation and not being a jack of all trades.
So it just makes sense that you need to develop a trusted group of health practitioners in your community that you can refer patients to.
This is the best way that you can serve the people that come into your practice.
It’s important to always remember that these are people who come into your practice not just an Atlas.
People have a variety of health problems that may be impacting their ability to thrive.
These health issues also may impact their ability to hold their adjustments and heal in your practice.
Trauma, toxins, and thoughts impact subluxations. So developing a referral network that can address the whole person is key to delivering great care while also building a great reputation in your community.
Building a health practitioner referral network has 3 key benefits:
When done right building a health practitioner referral network benefits everyone who is involved.
So why wouldn’t you do it and consistently invest in your health practitioner network?
Over the last decade, I have been consistently talking about professional referrals on this blog and on our podcast. The first place to start when building a health practitioner network have the right mindset. You want to tap into your own personal curiosity and friendliness.
In order to effectively build a health practitioner network you have to be intentional and get out of your office.
You have to be primarily focused on the interests of others then on your own interests.
So the 1st step to develop a list of health practitioners in your community. Start a spreadsheet and start googling. Here are some of the practitioners you want to Google to see how many are in your community:
This is just a starting point. Depending on your ideal patient you may have other health practitioners you would want to add to this list. It’s also important understand that if you are in a major city there is going to be dozens or sometimes hundreds of some of these practitioners. Focus on the ones that are the closest to your practice first or people that you already have a personal relationship with.
Another good way to focus on particular practitioners is to ask your current patients. If they mentioned another health practitioner that they have had a good experience with make sure that you get there name and reach out to them. You now have a common connection in this patient that you can start the conversation with.
But regardless of whether or not you have a personal connection or share a patient the next step is to just reach out and schedule meetings.
Just call the office and ask to speak with the health practitioner. Tell them who you are and that you are looking to connect with health practitioners in your community so you could refer patients to them. Ask if you can come by their office and meet them and learn more about what they do. Simple as that.
Next you want to go to their office and meet them and learn more about what they do. Just be friendly. Focus on developing a relationship with them and learning more about them. They will likely ask about you and what you do and you can share with them as well. Some people you will have a better connection with right away and will want to continue to build the relationship.
If you have a good connection with them it is important that you have something that you can invite them to where you can continue the conversation and building the new professional relationship. A professional study group or provider night are both excellent events to consistently have at your office.
Each of these events are a little bit different but have the same main purpose in mind. Host an event for health practitioners at your practice on a monthly or quarterly basis. If you click either the links above you can learn more about these types of events from podcasts that we’ve done with doctors who have very successful health practitioner referral networks in their communities.
Once you begin this process just keep it going. Set a goal to meet at least one health practitioner every week.
Once you begin to build a network you want to consistently give referrals to your health practitioner referral network. Just look for opportunities to refer your existing and new patients to your network. It’s important that you take these referrals seriously. Have some sort of a form that you use in your practice to make it easy for the patient to connect with the health practitioner. Give them their contact information and let them know that you will be calling the health practitioner yourself to discuss their unique situation.
Then call the health practitioner and discuss the patient and make sure that they have scheduled the appointment.
Likewise when a health practitioner refers someone to you, make sure that they have an outstanding experience. Call the health practitioner and thank them for the referral and also discuss the patient’s situation with them after you have done the initial consultation, exam and report of findings.
Building a health practitioner referral network takes consistent work but it will pay off for years to come.
If you set a goal to meet with 50 health practitioners over the next year your health practitioner referral network will explode and you will see a huge amount of fruit for years to come.
If you want help building a health practitioner referral network schedule a time to discuss your practice.
