Making Referrals Simple: How Valident Forms Transform Multi-Practice Management

If you’ve ever tried to refer a patient to another practice, you’ll know how frustrating it can be when you’re not sure who offers what, where they’re based, or which specialist you actually need. Now imagine managing that complexity across dozens of locations with hundreds of different treatment options. It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin.

We’ve been working on something that makes this whole process remarkably straightforward, and we’re rather excited to share it with you.

Why Traditional Referral Forms Don’t Work Anymore

Let’s be honest: most dental referral forms are a nightmare. You’re presented with endless dropdown menus, scrolling through alphabetical lists of every single clinician in the network, trying to work out which combinations actually exist in the real world.

Picture this scenario: you need to refer a patient for a specific dental procedure. The form shows you 50 clinicians and 30 practices, but you have no idea which clinician works where, or whether the practice you’re choosing actually offers the treatment you need. You make your best guess, submit the form, and hope for the best. Days later, you find out the referral couldn’t be processed because that particular specialist doesn’t work at that location. Sound familiar?

A Better Way Forward

Our new system works differently. Instead of showing you everything and leaving you to sort it out, it guides you through the options based on what’s actually available. It’s a bit like having a knowledgeable colleague sitting next to you, telling you exactly what your options are at each step.

Start by choosing a practice, and the form instantly updates to show only the treatments available there. Pick a treatment first? No problem – you’ll see which practices offer it. Select a particular clinician, and you’ll see where they work and what they can do. The form adapts to how you think, not the other way round.

How It Works in Practice

Let’s say you’re referring a patient for root canal treatment. You might approach this in several ways:

Starting with location: Perhaps your patient lives in Manchester. Select the Manchester practice first, and you’ll immediately see that they offer endodontic treatments. Choose ‘root canal therapy’ from the now-filtered treatment list, and you’re presented with the three specialists who perform this procedure at that location. Simple.

Starting with the specialist: Maybe your patient specifically wants to see Dr Smith because their neighbour had a great experience. Select Dr Smith first, and the form shows you she works at practices in Birmingham and Nottingham. Choose Birmingham, and you’ll see the treatments she offers there.

Starting with the treatment: You know you need orthodontic treatment but you’re flexible on location. Select orthodontics, and instantly see all the practices offering this service, along with the specialists available at each one.

The beauty is that you can’t go wrong. Every combination the form allows is a valid referral that can actually be fulfilled.

The “Any Available” Option

Sometimes you just need to get a patient seen quickly and don’t mind which specialist handles the case. We’ve built in an “any available clinician” option for each treatment type. It’s particularly useful for routine procedures or when waiting times are your primary concern.

Keeping Things Organised

Dental treatments naturally fall into groups and subgroups. Our system respects this structure, making it easier to find what you’re looking for. Instead of one massive list of treatments, you might see main categories like ‘Restorative Dentistry’ or ‘Oral Surgery’, with specific procedures nested underneath. It’s organised the way practitioners actually think about treatments, not just thrown together alphabetically.

For Practice Administrators: Taking Control

Behind every smooth referral is a well-organised administrative system. We’ve built a comprehensive management dashboard that puts administrators in complete control without requiring a degree in computer science.

What Administrators Can Do

Add new practices, update contact details, or mark locations as temporarily unavailable – it’s all straightforward. You can manage your entire treatment catalogue, organising services in a way that makes sense for your network.

Managing your team of clinicians is equally simple. Add new specialists, update their availability, or specify which procedures they’re qualified to perform. The system keeps track of who works where and what they can do, so the forms always reflect current reality.

The clever bit is how you connect everything together. Through an intuitive interface, you can specify relationships: this practice offers these treatments, this clinician works at these locations, this specialist performs these procedures. Change these relationships, and your referral forms update instantly.

Keeping Data Clean

As organisations grow, information comes in from various sources – old databases, spreadsheets, different practice management systems. Duplicates creep in: the same clinician listed twice with slightly different names, treatments that are essentially the same thing described differently.

We’ve built tools to spot these duplicates and merge them sensibly, preserving all the important relationships while cleaning up the mess. It’s like having a very patient assistant who goes through everything and tidies it all up.

Moving Data In and Out

Nobody wants to re-enter hundreds of records by hand. You can import your existing data in bulk, and export it whenever you need it for other systems. It’s your data – you should be able to work with it however suits you best.

What This Means for Real Practices

The impact of getting referrals right goes beyond mere convenience. Patients end up at the right place first time, reducing delays in treatment. Referring practitioners spend less time on administration and more time with patients. Reception staff field fewer confused calls about misdirected referrals.

One practice manager told us they’ve cut referral-related queries by more than half since implementing the system. Another mentioned that their referring GPs actually thank them for making the process so straightforward.

Built for Growth

Whether you’re managing three practices or thirty, the system grows with you. Add a new location? It appears in the forms immediately. New treatment option? Add it once, and it’s available wherever you specify. Bring on a new specialist? They’re integrated into the system straight away.

The technical bits – the database optimisation, the real-time updates, the responsive design that works on phones and tablets – all happen quietly in the background. Users just experience forms that work properly.

Coming Soon to More Practices

We’re currently rolling this out to selected practices, fine-tuning based on real-world feedback. The response has been brilliant – practices are finding it transforms not just their referral process but their entire approach to managing multi-location operations.

Could This Work for You?

If you’re wrestling with any of these challenges, we should talk:

• Managing referrals across multiple locations
• Coordinating between various specialists and departments
• Dealing with complex treatment hierarchies
• Struggling with inaccurate or incomplete referrals
• Spending too much time sorting out referral confusion

This isn’t just for large practice networks. Whether you’re a group of dental practices that’s recently merged, a growing specialist network, or any healthcare organisation dealing with complex referral patterns, this could make a real difference.

Let’s Talk

Getting referrals right shouldn’t be this hard. If you’re tired of wrestling with unwieldy forms and confused referral patterns, get in touch. We’d love to show you how this works and discuss how we might adapt it for your specific needs.

Every practice works differently, and that’s fine. This system is flexible enough to match how you actually operate, not force you into a one-size-fits-all solution.

Interested in simplifying your referral process? Drop us a line to arrange a conversation about your current challenges and how we might help solve them. No hard sell, just a friendly chat about making life easier for everyone involved in the referral process.