The most cost-effective and most reliable way to grow your practice is through a physician partnership. You can build solid relationships with a network of like-minded individuals to help more patients get the care they need. So how can healthcare clinics lock in this critical technique to go from getting by to getting everything you’ve ever wanted?

Gaining more physician partners can help you get new patients without paying a dime in advertising costs. Here’s what you need to know about referral marketing and how to get started today.

Create your dream 50 practice list near you

Identify who you want to partner with within your location. Talk to your patients and understand how they found your practice. What type of physicians is recommending patients to see a specialist like you? The validity of this strategy starts and finishes with the quality of this list. The list should include mostly primary care and some specialists.

Connect with these MDs on social media

When you build your list of dream 50, you should include social media links to both the physician personally and their practice. Get to know people online first. After the pandemic, the world is shifting to a digital-first world for building relationships. Make a connection with the potential MD referral via social media. Don't be afraid to reach out and introduce yourself. 

This stage of the game can really make or break the relationship. Make sure your online presence is up to date, and it reassures your potential referral partner that you would make a good partner.

Send the data

One of the most essential parts of being a physician is staying on top of the research. This can be tough with so much information available and little time to process. Take this age-old problem and help people overcome it. Start sending research their way.  You might have to do this for 1, 3, or even 6 months before someone starts paying attention. This research has to be paraphrased. Distill an article or paper into a one-page PDF. Make it readable on a plane, train, and bus. If there’s one thing docs want, but don’t have a lot of time to find, is the latest research. How should you find these articles and create a digestible one-pager?  PubMed is a great resource to find articles, but you can also find them on google scholar. However, when you find the articles, make sure you follow the copyright rules. If this process feels like you’re being thrown back into grade school, try to complete your book report; hire a virtual assistant to complete the task. This step really shows your value and can get attention quickly.

It's case study time 

Take a patient story or case study you’re really proud of and send this to the potential partner, legally, of course. Consult an attorney if you have any questions regarding sharing protected health information. Break down how you helped this patient and how they benefited from your service. Make sure this case study is easily digestible. Here are the 4 main ingredients to a great case study: 1. The upfront issue, 2. Diagnosis, 3. Treatment Plan, and 4. Outcome. This is all the social proof you need to help the MD feel like they can understand your practice.

Meet face to face

Request to meet via Zoom or in person. Make a face-to-face connection. During the discussion, you want to truly understand their practice and their service. The trick to this is to ask the right questions. You want to try and understand the types of patients they treat, their protocols for treatment, and when they refer patients to another clinic. This last step really seals the deal that you’re legit and want to help both practices succeed.

Hiring a physician liaison to do the work might be the best option if you’re limited on time.  This person must be dedicated to understanding your services and the uniqueness of your practice. This technique can change your practice for the better without a large marketing budget. Don't get discouraged if you don't hit it off with the first contact you get in touch with. This is a long-term strategy that pays dividends.