How do you get referrals from physicians?

The medical director should notably:

• Secure the collaboration of the institution's Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists (CPDP) to distribute information about the pulmonary rehabilitation program. For example, the medical director could ask to be invited to meetings of the CPDP and the Regional Department of General Medicine (RDGM).
• Contact private medical clinics: lunchtime conferences, meetings, letters, fliers, all geared towards promoting the program. One can also consider meeting with the physicians and/or nurses on duty.
• Distribute a physician's referral form to the greatest number of practitioners possible; this form has to be straightforward and concise.
• Persuade and explain to physicians the relevance of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients who have had a transplant. To this end, check to see if a post-transplant program exists in your region so as to seek the collaboration of the relevant professionals.
• Periodically do some follow-up work vis-à-vis the different constituencies (hospitals, outpatient clinics, medical clinics, CLSCs, etc.) and show them that the program is working (status reports, progress achieved by the patients, etc.).