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Second Opinion: The New World of Patient Referrals Jennifer de St. Georges

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The New World of Patient Referrals
by Jennifer de St. Georges
Early in my speaking career, my research showed 69 percent of new patients found their dentist as a direct referral from their friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. Simply put, all a dental practice had to do was make a good first impression, follow up and follow through, deliver more than patients hoped or expected, and not hurt them. Do this and you have the patient for life.

“A dentist is judged by everything but their quality of care” has been the cornerstone of my teaching from day one. JdSG’s list of Top 20 Needs of Dental Patients has never listed quality as an identified patient need. How could it? Without a dental degree, by what criteria could a patient judge a dentist’ quality of clinical expertise other than perception? So I rank a painless injection as the number-one need of patients from their dentists.

Americans rank fear of pain as their number-one reason for not visiting a dentist regularly. Fear of the needle ranks up with death, paying taxes and public speaking! How do dentists know their technique delivers a pain-free injection? Patients give you that feedback every single day! “Doctor, when are you going to give me the shot?” To which the doctor answers, “Jenny, I am confused, we have already done it!” Painless injections are the basis of a great patient/dentist relationship; essential to building a referral practice (with cleanliness and sterilization being tied at number two).

Practice Shoppers in the Old World
At the beginning of managing our practice, two kinds of patients caused me to be tongue-tied on the telephone. The first caller group wanted to know the doctor’s age and where he went to school. The first part of the question was hard to handle because you never knew what the caller was looking for! Fifty percent of callers wanted a young dentist. They connected youth with recently graduated from dental school and up-to- date equipment and techniques. The other 50 percent wanted age, experience and gray hair! I learned if I had handled the call correctly when the caller either hung up or stayed on the line to make an appointment! Today, your Web site gives your community this data.

The second caller group thought it was their given right to schedule an interview appointment with the doctor, after which they would then decide if they would schedule a new patient examination. These tough patients certainly made me appreciate the referred patient who had bought doctor and practice before they made that first call!

Patients Whose Search is Based on Cost and Convenience
Today’s patients (referred or not) utilize your Web site message and stated philosophy in ways we don’t always expect. If cost is the guiding factor in their search, I assume discount dentistry, coupons or bundling procedures for a discount attract patients with this goal. My issue here has always been when the patient uses cost alone to make this health provider choice. We have a financial commitment between two parties. When patients feel the fees are too high, etc., this financial commitment has been broken and gives patients total permission to walk and start to shop again for the lowest financial bidder.

The practice whose message and philosophy is strongly based on convenience has another issue. In my opinion, I feel this approach educates patients to jump. When it becomes too inconvenient (for whatever reason) this patient feels it is OK to look for another dentist who is more convenient. Neither money nor convenience emotionally connects the new patient to the dentist.

However, when a practice Web site wants to educate the visitor that dentistry in this practice is painless, how is that achievable? I don’t know. In many states, the Dental Practice Act states words like “painless dentistry” are not permissible. If you say you offer painless dentistry, you infer other practices do not. Actually, this could be true! But the law is the law. A dentist sells confidence and trust. Everything else is a byproduct of that sale.

Practice Shoppers in the New World
I have never ever envisioned myself using the Internet (or Yellow Pages) to find a health-care provider. A couple of years ago, I noticed a small mole on my shoulder, dormant for 20 plus years, had quadrupled in size, it seemed, in 72 hours! I had an emergency. I was an emotional wreck. I needed help.

My dermatologist of record was unsympathetic. “We’ll see you in four months,” I was told. I told the receptionist that I saw cancer in the mole. Four months was the reply. I immediately logged onto Yelp.com. My target was dermatologists in the San Francisco Bay Area. I looked for only four and five-star-rated practices. I read each patient consumer write up carefully within this designated group. I noted and appreciated the practice with the lovely reception room and current magazines; the practice with helpful staff. I loved the doctor who actually let patients ask questions without interruption. While all these attributes/services are on my Top 20 Patient Needs List, I did not use my own list as my criteria for finding my dermatologist!

I focused only on one thing: I looked for patients who talked about a medical miracle! I found my dermatologist. Five miles away from home, Stanford trained, degrees and credentials galore. However, neither convenience nor training drew me to him. What drew me in was the mother writing of her teenage daughter’s problem and resolution. Her teenage daughter had suffered from a major medical allergy for years, which had thwarted several doctors’ expertise. Ten minutes into the appointment, the doctor had diagnosed her daughter’s problem and prescribed the remedy. The remedy worked. I felt the mother had written from her perspective, a factual and well-balanced review. This was the testimonial I had been looking for. I made a decision to choose a medical provider based on a non-professional’s interpretation of a medical miracle. With confidence, I called the practice the next morning. They scheduled me the same day. The doctor was everything the mother’s testimonial had led me to believe, and more. The mole was benign and it was removed that day. He is now my dermatologist.

This personal experience has given me cause to rethink my preconceived and prejudiced concepts I have had over the years about the Internet and finding medical services. I can see how asking friends and neighbors for a dermatologist would have been very labor intensive, with no guarantee of being provided with any names at all. Five minutes on Yelp.com, I felt I had become an educated buyer. I grant you I did not personally know any of the posters. However, using common sense and reading carefully between the lines, I felt I learned a great deal. The experience taught me about how to use social media responsibly.

It is essential every dentist take a few minutes weekly to visit and review Internet activity about your practice. What are your patients saying to the world about you, your staff, your practice and your services? Please do not delegate this responsibility to your staff. This is your practice and your patients. You need to have a finger on the pulse of your practice and your community.

When any posting is less than 100 percent supportive of your services, reach out and post your side of the issue on the site. Also, contact the patient and address the issue with them personally. As well as promptly addressing issues, your weekly Internet visits gives you the opportunity to read about your happy patients, which puts life into perspective.

Summary
Today’s patients have not stopped contacting their friends and neighbors for help in finding new medical service providers. They have just expanded their search methods for testimonials and information via the Internet. According to the ReviewPro.com June 2011 survey, favorable consumer postings far outweigh negative postings, 60 percent to 28 percent. Their June 2011 report concludes, “The need to monitor the social web for damaging content remains, but ReviewPro’s research proves most people go online to share positive experiences. An opportunity in reputation monitoring involves collecting positive feedback and using it to identify areas of competitive advantage that can be emphasized in advertising and marketing communications.”.

Every dental practice should ensure their new patient registration form clearly delineates the difference between new patients who say they ‘Googled’ you (using location as their main criteria) from patients who chose you specifically because of the glowing testimonials posted online by your happy patients. We need to embrace the Internet as a friend – a friend who offers us a vehicle to spread good news faster! Experts tell us good news travels 15 percent slower than bad news. The vast majority of patients are buying confidence and trust. The Internet offers a great marketing tool to promote this.
Author's Bio
Jennifer de St. Georges has built a strong reputation for delivering her bottom-line and logical approach to solving complex management issues, in a highly motivating and humorous manner. Her live speaking programs, Webinars, articles, take home audio programs and implementation services have a loyal following. To book Jenny to speak or for more information call 800-393-2207 or visit www.jdsg.com.
Dentaltown Magazine
April 2024
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