TL;DR
Choose the orthopedic service line whose actual consultation pathway can support the proposed campaign. Map the clinician, office, appointment type, administrative requirements and receiving team before buying demand. Procedure capacity alone does not establish consultation access. Release promotion against a verified surgeon-service brief, with unresolved dependencies visible.
Replace the group growth target with an actual offer
An orthopedic group can want growth while individual surgeons, offices and appointment types face different constraints. A campaign for a named surgeon is not automatically usable by another clinician with a different scope. A sports medicine inquiry is not automatically demand for a joint procedure. Begin with the actual service the practice is prepared to explain and receive.
Ask the service lead what appointment the public action offers. Is it a consultation request, another approved evaluation pathway or information about care delivered elsewhere? Verify who provides it and where. Clinical selection and individual suitability remain with the qualified practice team and patient. Marketing should not choose a treatment to fill a facility schedule.
The service pilot guide helps frame a bounded purchase. The brief here adds the orthopedic constraint: surgeon, consultation and supporting-service capacity may not move together.
Complete a surgeon-service capacity and demand brief
Use a record for each candidate service and office. Populate it from approved operational information rather than a competitor's page or a group-wide provider list.
| Brief field | Evidence the practice supplies | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Public service | Approved description and responsible qualified lead ___ | Advertising a procedure as the default outcome |
| Clinician route | Actual clinician role, scope and appointment type ___ | Treating providers as interchangeable |
| Consultation access | Usable schedule and request or confirmation process ___ | Promoting openings that exist only elsewhere in the pathway |
| Office and supporting logistics | Actual site, records process and relevant imaging arrangements ___ | Implying every office supplies the same visit |
| Administrative prerequisites | Verified referral, payer and preparation instructions ___ | A broad access promise that ignores the actual arrangement |
| Receiving capacity | Named intake owner, backup and unresolved-question route ___ | Buying inquiries with no accountable recipient |
| Demand evidence | Existing appropriate inquiry categories and unknowns ___ | Treating audience reach as service demand |
| Financial scope | Actual quoted acquisition costs and owner-approved business question ___ | Assuming a procedure value for every consultation |
The worksheet is an editorial purchasing tool. It is not a clinical screening or coverage checklist. Have qualified staff establish what requirements apply and at which point in the pathway. Record uncertain capacity separately from confirmed usable access.
Check prerequisites without inventing universal referral rules
For Medicare Advantage HMO plans, Medicare says a specialist referral is needed in most cases. That is a plan-type statement, not a rule that every orthopedic patient needs a physician referral. Medicare HMO guidance. Have billing and operations verify the actual service, plan and process before approving access language.
Ask whether a missing item prevents making a request, confirming an appointment or proceeding with some later service. Keep those points distinct. Do not make the campaign promise “no referral needed” from the fact that the office can receive a form. Equally, do not create a blanket scheduling barrier from a requirement that applies elsewhere.
If the group lists imaging or a facility relationship, have the qualified service owner verify the real role. Marketing should describe a confirmed arrangement without implying the practice controls another organization's appointments. An external provider's capacity is not automatically capacity the group can sell.
Compare candidates by the unresolved decision
If a service has usable consultation access but unclear public instructions, the next purchase might be a service-page and intake repair. If relevant inquiries already arrive but cannot reach a supported appointment type, acquisition is not the immediate gap. If capacity is unresolved because staffing is changing, keep that scope pending while operations supplies the decision.
Avoid an additive score that lets strong revenue interest cancel an unusable request path. An owner can compare strategic relevance, actual access and evidence quality without claiming a scientific ranking. Record the reason for the chosen candidate and the constraint that disqualified another.
Do not infer that selecting a service proves demand exists. The brief establishes readiness for a test. Define what the campaign will learn and which observed states will support continuation. Keep source, inquiry, consultation and clinical outcomes separate.
Release the campaign with an acceptance record
Agree the approved service, clinician route, office, receiving owner, permitted message and observation method. Rehearse the public action with labeled synthetic details through the practice's approved test process, preventing real outreach or unwanted appointments. Confirm the visible acknowledgement and operational receipt.
Use the service coverage map to preserve office-specific facts. Require a change trigger when the surgeon schedule, consultation process or supporting arrangement changes. The campaign owner should be able to identify which offer must be narrowed before it becomes inaccurate.
GetPatients has a commercial interest in healthcare visibility services. Apply the brief to its proposal and every competing scope. Purchase the work the practice can use, and require evidence before expanding it. No service-line choice guarantees suitable inquiries or procedures.
Frequently asked questions
Should the highest-revenue procedure lead the campaign?
Use the owner's actual business priorities alongside consultation readiness and truthful access. Procedure revenue does not establish the value or outcome of an unassessed inquiry.
Can another surgeon absorb the campaign's demand?
Have qualified staff verify the real alternative and communicate it honestly. Respect named-provider requests and individual choice. Do not silently substitute a different clinical service or clinician.
What if our records do not show service-specific demand?
Keep that uncertainty in the brief. Define an appropriately scoped inquiry test and reporting method rather than presenting general traffic as evidence for the selected service.