Last week I referred a patient out to the endodontic specialist to have a root canal done on a particurally complex tooth. Although I do root canal treatments, I thought that this particular case might be beyond my skill. What the patient said was eye opening to me. She said, Well I guess youll make more money if the specialist does it. It had never occured to me that patients might not know how referrals work! After explaining to the patient how the referal system works, it occured to me that she might not be alone in thinking that doctors profit from referrals. I thought I should post this in case anyone else doesnt know how the referral system works in dentistry specifically and in medicine in general. Did you know that it is illegal for a doctor to profit from referring you to either another doctor or to a specialist? Let me re-phrase that- Your doctor will NEVER make money from referring you to a specialist collegue. When a doctor profits from referrals this is referred to as a kick-back. Kick backs are illegal and doctors who practice this way can lose their licence to practice. When you doctor refers you out for treatment, it is always because treatment by a specialist will be of benefit to YOU never to him or her. It is a sign that your doctor wants the best treatment for you, that they truly care. Many times, we make referrals even though we would benefit financially from attempting your treatment ourselves. The simple truth is that all doctors have different levels of skill or comfort when attempting different types of treatment- even treatments that they do every day. Some cases are simply more complex than others and require more experience, training, or specialized instruments to treat. I hope that this helps to explain how referrals work! If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to post or message me! Yours, Christopher S. Hoffpauir DDS
Posted on: Tue, 20 May 2014 13:32:52 +0000
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