Consider referrals to fellow optometrists

Primary care practitioners are discovering the benefits of intraprofessional referrals for difficult contact lens fitting, complex glaucoma cases, low vision and vision therapy. Because these optometric specialists do not offer competing services, general optometrists can expect their patients to return to their practices for routine vision care.

Optometrists known for a specialty

As someone who frequently accepts referrals from colleagues, Christine W. Sindt, OD, FAAO, a contact lens and cornea specialist at the University of Iowa, views herself as a resource for other doctors and invites them to use her practice as an extension of their own.

Lynne P. Noon

“I started to see an increase in referrals as I become better known for what I do,” Dr. Sindt said in an interview with Primary Care Optometry News. “I lecture around the state of Iowa and tell other doctors they can send their patients to me; I’ll do the fitting and I’m happy to send them back for their follow-up care. I do not want to keep these patients … I want to work with doctors locally so they can use the resources I have. It makes each of us more efficient and profitable.”

Lynne P. Noon, OD, FAAO, a diplomate in low vision rehabilitation, feels that being a specialist in an area in which most doctors do not practice fosters referrals.

“I specialize in low vision rehabilitation, and a lot of doctors do not want to do that or do not have the equipment to do it,” Dr. Noon told PCON. “I don’t compete for patients and I’m providing a service most other doctors don’t want to provide.”

Building relationships

When accepting referrals from colleagues, PCON Editorial Board member Christopher J. Quinn, OD, feels it is important to build strong relationships with optometrists who refer patients to your practice for a specific service.

“We treat our referring doctors with a high degree of respect,” he said in an interview. “We really believe in the care they provide and consider ourselves an extension of their practice. We work with them and their practice and make sure we communicate freely and send reports on every patient encounter.”

Christopher J. Quinn

Sending patients back

A successful referral-based practice needs to do more than remain visible and build a reputation, Dr. Quinn said. Ensuring that patients return to the practice from which they were referred is essential for a continued relationship.

“There’s always concern that the patient you refer or the friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and other ‘collateral referrals’ may end up in the practice to which you referred your patient,” he said. “We don’t allow the opportunity for the patient to say they’d rather come to our office for their regular eye care; we simply say that we don’t do that. We make sure the patient ends up back in the practice that referred them now that the services we’ve been asked to provide have been provided.”

Although it is ultimately a patient’s decision whether or not to return to their referring doctor after treatment, Jeffrey Cooper, OD, MS, FAAO who specializes in vision therapy, requires patients to see their referring doctor after therapy has been completed.

“When we’re finished with a patient, we want them to go back to their doctor within a month or so after completing vision therapy so the doctor can see a successful outcome,” Dr. Cooper told PCON.

Why optometrists should refer

With so many optometrists focusing on one area of practice, Dr. Sindt feels that referrals to these specialists should happen more often when primary care optometrists cannot completely treat a patient.

“A lot of times doctors like to keep the patients all in their practice, but they’re not necessarily doing anyone any favors,” she said. “Frequently, patients I see are frustrated because they want to be referred somewhere else and they found me through the Internet.”

Dr. Quinn agrees. “Just because we have the same degree doesn’t mean we have the same degree of expertise in an individual area,” he said. “I encourage people to consider intraprofessional referrals when a patient needs a service that is outside of your particular area of expertise.”

For more information:

• Christine W. Sindt, OD, FAAO, can be reached at e-mail: christine-sindt@uiowa.edu.
• Lynne P. Noon, OD, FAAO, can be reached at Low Vision Resource Centers; (866) 924-8755; e-mail: lpnoon@cox.net.
• Christopher J. Quinn, OD, is a Primary Care Optometry News Editorial Board member. He can be reached at Omni Eye Services, 485 Route #1, Iselin, NJ 08830; (732) 750-0400; fax: (732) 750-9079; e-mail: quinn@omnieyeservices.com.
• Jeffrey Cooper, OD, MS, FAAO, can be reached at 539 Park Ave., New York, NY 10065; (212) 588-9574; e-mail: cooperjsc1@gmail.com.