Everyday Oral Surgery Dr. Grant Stucki and Dr. David Salomon: The Pitfalls of Referrals and How to Train Your Referring Docs to Send Good Referrals
As we are recommended by general dentists, endodontists, periodontists, and orthodontists, getting referrals is a key part of our job as maxillofacial surgeons. Today we talk about different kinds of referrals, how to approach them, and why they’re so important. We open the show by hearing from our co-host, Dr. David Salomon, about his thoughts on various types of referrals, as he explains the difference between top, middle, and lower-end referrals. He touches on the relationship you have with each and why building rapport is a good step in maintaining these relationships. As our conversation develops, listeners will also hear about some of the challenges associated with patients that you gain from problematic referrals. David mentions some of the most common problems, like misinformation, vague information, or simply no information at all. To antidote this, David shares information on how doctors can write up better referrals. We look at aspects like clarity, identifying true emergency scenarios, and why you shouldn’t go through with a surgery that has been requested but might not be necessary. Throughout our conversation, David shares valuable anecdotes from his personal experience, peppering in some banter along the way. To find out what the bottom line is on proper referrals and much, much more, be sure to join us today.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Today we discuss referrals with co-host Dr. David Solomon.
- What David’s initial thoughts are on referrals and what to look out for.
- How to approach referrals and what the referred patient tells you.
- When referral notes don’t accurately describe the problem or its extent.
- David shares anecdotes about misinformation in referral notes.
- Why you shouldn’t give in to time pressure if referrals aren’t clear.
- How David approaches referrals from orthodontists.
- When you don’t need a referral to make a decision.
- Hear about GP referrals and their common characteristics.
- We discuss medical plans and what happens when you aren’t fully covered.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: