A Guide to Starting Your Patient Referral Program

If you are looking for ways to attract new patients to your healthcare practice, a patient referral program might be an effective solution to consider. These programs harness the trust of your existing patients to attract new patients, build patient loyalty, and grow your practice more sustainably, all without costly advertising.

A well-designed referral program also strengthens relationships with existing patients through personalized outreach and follow-up. Weave’s communication platform makes it easier than ever to stay in touch with patients and effortlessly communicate new programs to them.

What makes a referral program ethical and trust-building?

Before rolling out a patient referral program, you need to do your due diligence to craft a program that is ethical and builds trust with patients. Under the AMA Code of Medical Ethics, physicians must not offer financial incentives or other incentives of value to patients in exchange for recruiting other patients. Doing so could compromise trust and skew the expectations of new patients.

Instead, focus on attracting voluntary, honest referrals from patients that are rooted in patient satisfaction rather than monetary gain. The AMA considers this the only ethical foundation for these programs.

When patients have positive experiences at your healthcare facility, they will want to share those experiences with others. They may naturally tell their friends and family members about your practice, especially if they are looking for new primary care physicians.

Your referral program should gently encourage patients to act on their desires to share their experiences with others.

Components of an effective patient referral program

So, what makes an effective patient referral program that doesn’t rely on monetary or other valuable incentives? This involves setting your patients up to want to refer their friends to your practice and making the referral process easy.

Deliver exceptional patient experience

Before you even begin creating a new patient referral program, think about whether the average patient experience would prompt current patients to refer others to your practice. Are your physicians going above and beyond to deliver an exceptional experience?

This might look like:

• Deeply listening to patients and never rushing them through appointments
• Personalizing care to a patient’s specific needs, goals, fears, and health conditions
• Responding swiftly to complaints in an effort to make the situation right
• Following up with patients after visits to ensure their satisfaction and answer any questions
• Conducting experience surveys that reinforce patient trust and help you learn what areas of your practice need work

Encourage referrals tactfully

Some satisfied patients naturally spread the word about your practice. Others might need gentle encouragement to do so.

Focus on creating a patient referral program that tactfully encourages referrals. For example, instead of sending out bulk communications about your new program, you could ask certain patients directly to spread the word. Saying something like “If you know someone who’d benefit from our practice, feel free to share their information” can ensure that patients feel they have a choice in the matter.

Streamline the referral process for patients

The referral process should be fast and seamless, both for current patients and their referred family members or friends. If they need to jump through too many hoops, they may give up or go to a different practice with an easier program.

You can simplify this process by:

• Asking all new patients whether someone referred them (or, more generally, how they heard about your practice)
• Inviting patients to send you an email with the name of a new referral, so you can keep track of where new patients originated

Build your practice’s reputation

Finally, take steps to enhance your practice’s credibility and reputation, as potential patients may conduct research before scheduling an appointment. This may involve:

• Managing patient reviews or even asking current patients if they wouldn’t mind leaving a review of your practice
• Asking specific patients for testimonials that you can use on your website content or social media pages
• Posting about any awards or honors your physicians have received

A positive reputation can organically drive new patients to your practice. It can also help referred patients make an easier decision about choosing your practice.

Setting up an ethical and effective patient referral program

Referrals are an effective form of word-of-mouth advertising that can help bring new patients to your practice. If you are ready to implement an ethical patient referral program in your practice, you can start by following these steps.

Define clear program goals

Patient referral programs can have differing goals. Do you want to increase patient volume, improve access to those who may not know about your services, or support your practice’s expansion?

Defining your goals can help shape your referral program accordingly. For example, if your objective is to increase patient volume, you might take a more proactive approach to tracking referrals and asking current patients for them.

Map the referral journey

Next, take the time to map the journey current and new patients will go through during the referral process. This can help you ensure seamless transitions and communication at each touch point.

For example, the referral process may look something like this:

1. A current patient visits your practice.
2. You invite the patient to refer their friends or family.
3. A friend of the patient reaches out to your practice to inquire about your services.
4. You ask how they heard about your medical practice, and find that they were referred by a friend.
5. You follow up with the referral a few days later to ask if they have any additional questions or are ready to book an appointment.
6. The referral schedules an appointment with your practice, and you conduct the new patient onboarding protocol.
7. You send a thank-you note to the original patient or express your appreciation for the referral in another way.

Alternatively, you could set up your program with referral cards, rather than relying on referrals to contact your business directly. Existing patients have the opportunity to write down the name and phone number of a family member or friend who they think would benefit from your services. Then, you reach out to the referral directly.

Craft clear messaging

Creating an effective patient referral program that doesn’t rely on incentives can require a bit more brainstorming and forethought. Take the time to craft clear messaging around your program that hinges on patient satisfaction and your appreciation for their referral instead of monetary rewards.

You might use phrasing like:

• “Refer a friend who needs attentive care.”
• “Satisfied with our services? We truly appreciate referrals. Fill out a referral card to recommend a friend or family member to our practice.”

While you can’t directly incentivize patients to refer their friends, you could brainstorm other ways to express appreciation, such as adding them to a referral wall or inviting them to a patient appreciation dinner.

Train your team

Your staff should understand when and how to discuss the referral program conversationally and authentically. For example, it probably won’t be a good idea to bring this program up to patients who have expressed frustration or dissatisfaction with your practice. You might reserve it for loyal patients who have demonstrated positive feelings toward your healthcare facility.

Ensure that all team members understand how the program works and are familiar with the correct terminology to use when discussing it.

Use technology to support the pipeline

The right technology can make communicating with existing and referred patients simple. Weave’s features help your medical facility capture, track, and follow up with referrals:

• Digital forms make onboarding new patients a breeze.
• Two-way texting allows for casual conversations about your referral program.
• Reminders convey important information to new patients, ensuring a successful visit.

Weave automatically organizes and unifies patient communications, allowing staff to easily document referral conversations.

Track, measure, and optimize

Finally, be sure to monitor the success of your patient referral program by tracking metrics like:

• Referral sources
• Conversion rates
• Patient retention
• Patient satisfaction

Weave Analytics lets you seamlessly track essential patient data and metrics to make targeted improvements to your program. You can refine the wording, simplify referral instructions, or send reminders to patients according to this data.

Weave helps you communicate your patient referral program

A patient referral program grounded in trust, ethical practices, and user-friendly technology can help you grow your practice sustainably. Weave is the ideal partner for practices seeking to effectively communicate their referral programs and streamline patient interactions.

Request a demo today to learn more.