To gain insight into specialty referrals and the need for clear communication, it is instructive to consider a famous story from the aviation industry.\u00a0 Some years ago a foreign airliner that was approaching a major airport in the United States crashed short of the runway. The pilots had advised Air Traffic Control that they were low on fuel. The controllers were giving the pilots instructions for a priority landing when the crash occurred. However, an investigation revealed that the pilots had only said that fuel was \u201clow\u201d; they did not declare \u201ca fuel emergency.\u201d The controllers later said that they would have cleared the plane to land immediately if they had known that the fuel situation was critical.<\/p>\n
In dental offices, urgent referrals to specialists are sometimes made using ambiguous language. If the referring office asks, \u201cHow soon can you get this patient in?\u201d the response may be, \u201cTomorrow.\u201d In this case, the office manager at the specialty office may have every reason to believe that she is doing a great job. However, if the caller really meant to say, \u201cCan you get this patient in today?\u201d then we have a failure to communicate.<\/p>\n
There are three parts to an urgent referral:<\/p>\n
1. The referring office should ask if the patient can be seen in the specialist\u2019s office today, as soon as possible. No ambiguity.
\n2. The reason for the urgency should be stated. \u201cDr. Smile would like Dr. Specialist to see the patient today because she is experiencing discomfort,\u201d for example.
\n3. If it is an urgent matter, then the referring office should always make the call to the specialist\u2019s office for the patient. Allowing the patient to make the call is not a good idea. It is courteous and efficient for the two offices to communicate with each other and secure the same-day appointment.<\/p>\n
Communication between referring and specialty offices can be a challenge, but plain speaking can avoid misunderstandings and get an urgent case to the specialist\u2019s office as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"