Referral Patient Updates: How often do you get them?
Still calling referring offices for patient updates? It's time to stop that.
When we started exploring the patient referral process we talked to dozens of general dentists, specialists, and office managers to understand what pain points they face on a daily basis when it comes to referrals.
We heard answers we expected to here like:
"We have so many referral pads"
"I have to scan the referral and then send it"
"We get referrals in so many different ways from different offices"
"I don't know, my office manager handles it"
We heard one response from an office manager at a general dentist's office that really stuck out:
"I never know if the patient was scheduled, if they got treatment, if there are post-op notes to share with the doctor, and if they have any new imaging for us to have on file"
Boom - that's the value to referring dentist - we need to create visibility with automatic updates on the patient's progress throughout the entire referral. From the time a referral is sent to the time the treatment is completed and the patient returns to the referring doctor - there should be 100% visibility.
You might be thinking, why didn't the referring office just call the office and ask for updates on the patient? If you're an office manager reading this, you know the answer. There's not enough time in the day to do everything else! You definitely don't have time to call, wait on hold, get transferred, and then wait for them to give you an update. That's 10 minutes that can be spent being more productive, filling the calendar, and providing excellent customer service to ever patient that comes up to the front desk.
With Sindi, referring offices can now know the status of every patient they've referred to another office without ever picking up the phone. They can message back and forth and receive post-op notes and files when the treatment is complete. Whether it's a routine referral or something more complex, 100% patient visibility adds peace of mind to know that your patient is taken care of.
Far and above our current office managers' favorite feature is The Timeline and a start-to-finish view of everything related to the referral.
Are you a general dentist that referrals dozens of patients each month?
Do you want passive updates on your patients so you can know they are being treated without having to pick up the phone?
Sindi was built for you. Get started with a free account today!
