Physician referrals

How to follow up with physicians after they refer a patient to your trial

By TrialNotice · Updated
Clinical research coordinator in a navy polo smiling on a phone call and writing notes at his desk
Short answerConfirm every referral within a few business days, tell the physician whether the patient screened, and keep them informed until the patient's participation ends. Tufts CSDD found nearly 30% of physicians and 45% of nurses never heard from the site after referring, which is one of the fastest ways to lose a referral source.

How common is the follow up gap?

Very common. In Tufts CSDD's survey, nearly 30% of physicians and 45% of nurses reported never receiving initial or follow up contact from site staff after making a referral (Tufts CSDD via Applied Clinical Trials). Physicians refer a median of five patients into trials per year (Getz). A site that goes silent after the first one rarely gets a second.

What does a good follow up schedule look like?

  1. Confirm the referral within two business days: thank the physician and name the coordinator handling it.
  2. Report the screening outcome once it is known: screened, not eligible, or declined.
  3. Report enrollment if the patient randomizes, and how the site will coordinate with the physician's ongoing care.
  4. Close the loop when the patient completes or leaves the study.
  5. Share results when the study publishes them.
Share only what your consent forms and privacy procedures allow. Confirming that a referral was received and whether the patient is continuing is usually enough to keep the relationship strong.

What should you do when a referred patient is not eligible?

Tell the physician, and say why in general terms, such as a lab value outside the range or a disallowed medication. That teaches them your criteria faster than any letter and makes their next referral more likely to qualify.

How do you follow up with physicians who have not referred yet?

A single letter arrives on a busy day. Follow up by email and LinkedIn over the following weeks, and prioritize physicians who showed interest. A unique QR code on each letter shows which physicians scanned it, so coordinators can call the interested ones first instead of working an entire list.

Why does follow up matter beyond one referral?

Patients expect it: 95% of CISCRP respondents said it is important for their regular doctor to be aware of studies (CISCRP). Physicians who see that a site treats their patients well become repeat referrers across studies, which makes each new study faster to launch.

Related: what physicians need to know before referring.

Get your study in front of the right local physicians

TrialNotice builds a physician referral pipeline around one active study. We identify relevant local physicians within driving distance of your site, send study aligned direct mail, follow up by email and LinkedIn, track engagement with recipient level QR codes, and route warm responses into your site team's workflow.

Talk to TrialNotice

Sources

  1. Applied Clinical Trials, "Tufts CSDD Study Explores Low Recruitment Rates"
  2. Ken Getz, Applied Clinical Trials, "Rebooting the Statistic That 5% of Eligible Patients Participate in Clinical Trials"
  3. CISCRP, Highlights from the 2017 Perceptions and Insights Study

Keep reading

Community physician in a white coat reading a one page clinical trial referral letter at his office desk
Physician referrals

How to get physicians to refer patients to your clinical trial

Physicians refer less than 0.2% of their patients into clinical trials, mostly because they lack study information and time. Here is how research sites close that gap and build a steady referral pipeline.

 Busy physician in navy scrubs and a white coat walking quickly down a clinic hallway holding a tablet
Physician referrals

Why physicians rarely refer patients to clinical trials, and what fixes it

Physicians refer less than 0.2% of their patients into trials even though 90% are comfortable discussing research. The data points to information and time, not resistance. Here is what research sites can change.

 Dermatologist in a white coat reading a one page clinical study summary while on the phone in her exam room doorway
Physician referrals

What physicians need to know before referring a patient to a clinical trial

Before a physician refers a patient to your trial, they need five things: the study, the deciding criteria, the location, what the patient will go through, and one named contact. Here is why each matters.