Self-referral – an internet marketing trend

The internet is changing the way people make dental appointments. With the amount of information available from websites,  online reviews, and social media, people are feeling less dependent upon personal referrals.

It used to be that when you needed the services of a dental specialist, your family dentist would send you to a specialist and you would just go. Recently, more and more patients are taking this referral process into their own hands. We are calling this practice “self referral.”

What Is a Self-Referral?

Please understand the way we are using this term. There is an unethical practice used by some physicians of referring a patient for tests or specialty care to an individual or entity in which the physician has a financial interest. This practice, also called self-referral, is considered unethical and is prohibited in Medicare rules. What we’re talking about is the patient independently seeking out their own specialist rather than taking the referral given by their family dentist.

Periodontist Website—a Case Study

Last November we launched a website for a periodontist in Atlanta who was interested in pursuing this market. Dr. David Pumphrey gets a lot of referrals from prominent cosmetic dentists in Atlanta, but he was noticing an increasing number of patients self-referring—not necessarily taking the recommendation of their general dentist, but deciding to select a specialist on their own. He commissioned us to create a website design that would brand him as the premier periodontist in Atlanta and would appeal to both referring doctors and self-referring patients.

Dr. David Pumphrey’s website

While we knew that we would attract self-referring patients with the website, we were surprised to learn how effective the site actually was.

It has taken a while to build rankings and traffic to the site, and rankings and traffic are still improving. But even in the launch month, he got an estimated 6 new patient self-referrals. That number has been increasing until last month the practice acquired an estimated 21 self-referred new patients who found him through online search.

Another factor in specialist dental marketing is that the website can confirm the referral from the general dentist. Just because a general dentist referred the patient, the specialist shouldn’t consider that a guaranteed appointment. If the appearance and content of the website doesn’t validate the practice in the mind of the patient, that may be the initial impetus for the patient’s seeking a self-referral.

Bottom Line

Specialists, it can pay to invest in a quality website. You may be of the opinion that there is no self-referral market in your city. I am confident that isn’t the case, and you will find that out as soon as you position yourself to appeal to that market.