I’ve always acknowledged that there’s a certain tension in the act of a referral from a general dentist to a specialist dentist. It’s an inevitability that comes from passing your patient on to another clinician that requires a particular kind of trust. It is based on knowing your patient will be looked after well. It comes from the understanding that the specialist has more knowledge in this particular situation. And it comes from the ethics of knowing your patient will be returned to you following treatment and any follow up care that is needed. That’s actually quite a lot of trust.
So how do you choose your safe pair of hands? Having thought about this a lot over the years it’s safe to say that there’s no straightforward formula but it has to involve a combination of reputation, communication and patient feedback.
Knowing the skillset of the clinician you refer to is a starting point. Beyond that it’s important to appreciate their reputation in the specialism. This can be borne out by the opinion of others, the external profile of the specialist and other indicators such as their continuing qualifications, modernity, papers they’ve written and the types of cases they undertake. I hesitate to include their profile on social media here as the most highly considered specialists might not be concerned with their media presence but it is a useful factor nonetheless – to see what they post, especially about clinical procedures.
There are a host of things that combine to create someone’s reputation and the most useful and reliable way is to know them yourself. Maybe this is one of the most valuable reasons to attend training events, conferences and exhibitions?
Communication throughout the referral process is vital. From the first contact to the patient’s return, it’s important that all stages are noted in the right amount of detail and the referring dentist is fully involved. If the referral form isn’t clear, this is a great opportunity to contact the dentist, ask for more information, and is the perfect way to continue to develop the relationship.
Communication isn’t just a question of dentist to dentist but also practice to practice. The best communication around patient care follows a process so that all parties have complete sight and understanding of the patient’s status. So part of any clinician’s value is tied up in the level of professionalism of the team they have around them. You can see why my theme as President of the BSP this year is rooted in the importance of the team – there is no escaping it.
Finally, patient feedback is another factor to add in to your profile building exercise with a specialist clinician. Listening and noting your patient’s experience will provide all sorts of insight to how they were treated, how well the treatment plan was explained, how the cost was broken down and how they felt overall. For a patient, dental treatment is not usually easy to review in the same way they might review a restaurant so it’s a good idea to frame any questions with that in mind. “Would you use them again” is probably not appropriate!
Building long-term relationships between the GDP and specialist removes any fear of competition and, instead, should create an environment where the process is smooth and the patient’s interests are always front and centre. My responsibility is to both the referring dentist and the patient. Being honest and accountable is also part of this.
Ultimately, for me, my specialist business in South Birmingham is based wholly on referrals for my periodontal and implant dentistry skills but I am also aware that my reputation, communication and patient care need development and attention in the same way I continue with my specialist training and those all-important CPD points.