Building an international patient pipeline normally requires a clinic to invest before knowing whether that investment will produce consultations. Advertising, multilingual content, enquiry follow-up and sales support all require resources, while the clinic still has to manage diagnosis, treatment acceptance and clinical care.
Delia Global’s Business Partnership model changes how the acquisition stage is structured. Its sales and marketing operation generates and qualifies potential patients before directing them to a partner clinic. The clinic does not pay an upfront marketing cost for this activity. Revenue is shared when patients proceed through the process agreed during partnership setup.
This does not transfer clinical responsibility to Delia Global. The partner clinic handles consultation, diagnosis, treatment acceptance and care delivery, while Delia Global supports the patient acquisition and qualification stages.
This article explains how the dental referral partnership works, how responsibilities are divided and what a clinic should clarify before joining.
Quick answer
Delia Global generates and qualifies potential patients before directing them to a partner clinic. There is no upfront marketing cost for this acquisition activity. The clinic remains responsible for consultation, diagnosis, treatment acceptance and care delivery, while revenue sharing follows the terms agreed during partnership setup.
How the Delia Global referral model works
Reaching international patients involves more than placing an advertisement. A potential patient may discover a clinic several weeks or months before arranging a consultation. During that period, the patient may need information about available treatments, help understanding the next step and consistent follow-up from a sales or support team.
Building that system independently can require a clinic to maintain several functions at once: overseas advertising, content production, enquiry management, multilingual communication and performance tracking. The clinic carries these costs even when a lead does not progress.
Delia Global uses its existing international sales and marketing operation to manage the earlier stages of this journey. According to information published by Delia Global, the wider operation has an eight-year track record, more than 100 sales and marketing professionals and experience processing over 10,000 qualified leads per month.
These figures describe the scale of the wider operation. They do not represent a guaranteed number of leads or patients for each partner clinic.
Under the Business Partnership model, Delia Global first generates potential patient enquiries through its marketing activity. Its team then qualifies potential patients before directing them to a partner clinic through the process established during partnership setup.
“Qualified” should not be interpreted as “clinically approved” or “guaranteed to accept treatment.” Clinical suitability can only be confirmed after the partner clinic has conducted the appropriate consultation and examination. Qualification instead helps determine whether an enquiry is relevant enough to enter the partner clinic’s process.
The precise criteria may vary according to the clinic’s location, treatments, target market, supported languages and available capacity. For this reason, the meaning of a qualified lead and the information transferred during handover should be confirmed before the partnership begins.
Once the potential patient reaches the partner clinic, the clinic manages the clinical and treatment-acceptance stages. It conducts the consultation, confirms the diagnosis, prepares the treatment plan, explains the available options and determines whether treatment is appropriate.
How responsibilities are divided
The model connects two different areas of expertise. Delia Global provides the acquisition infrastructure, while the partner clinic provides the clinical assessment and care.
| Stage | Primary responsibility |
| International marketing and patient acquisition | Delia Global |
| Initial patient qualification | Delia Global |
| Directing the potential patient to the partner process | Delia Global |
| Consultation and clinical examination | Partner clinic |
| Diagnosis and treatment planning | Partner clinic |
| Treatment explanation and acceptance | Partner clinic |
| Clinical care and patient experience at the clinic | Partner clinic |
| Revenue-sharing records and reporting | Defined during partnership setup |
This distinction matters because qualified enquiries do not remove the clinic’s role in converting suitable cases. The clinic still needs to respond promptly, arrange consultations, communicate treatment plans clearly and provide a consistent patient experience.
Delia Global’s marketing and qualification process also does not replace the clinic’s clinical judgment. The treating clinic remains responsible for deciding whether a patient is suitable for treatment and which treatment, if any, should be recommended.
The published model does not confirm that Delia Global’s involvement ends immediately when treatment begins, nor does it state that Delia Global takes over the clinical relationship. Any continuing communication, reporting or administrative responsibilities should therefore be defined in the partnership agreement rather than assumed.
How revenue sharing is structured
The Business Partnership model does not require an upfront marketing payment for the patient acquisition activity. Instead, revenue is shared when patients proceed through the agreed partnership process.
Delia Global does not publish one universal revenue-sharing percentage for every clinic, market or treatment category. The applicable structure is established directly with the clinic during partnership setup.
The agreement should explain which patients fall within the partnership, when revenue sharing becomes applicable and how treatment revenue is recorded. It should also cover situations in which a treatment plan changes after consultation, a patient postpones treatment or a case does not proceed as originally expected.
Tracking also needs to be clear. Both parties should understand when a patient enters the partnership process, which team is responsible for each communication stage and what information must be reported after consultation or treatment.
This avoids treating revenue sharing as a vague referral fee. It becomes part of a defined operating process connecting patient acquisition, clinic consultation and care delivery.
Is the model suitable for every clinic?
A clinic does not need to be a large dental group to explore a Delia Global partnership. However, it needs enough operational and clinical capacity to manage the opportunities it receives.
A clinic may have room for more patients but still lack a reliable enquiry-response process. Another may have a strong consultation team but limited availability for the treatment category being promoted. These differences affect whether additional lead flow produces sustainable growth or simply creates more pressure on the existing team.
Before joining, the clinic and Delia Global should discuss the clinic’s location, main treatments, clinical team, current patient volume and available capacity. They should also clarify which patient markets are relevant, what qualification includes, who handles communication at each stage and how quickly the clinic is expected to respond.
The discussion should cover how referred patients will be tracked, when revenue sharing applies, how revised treatment plans are recorded and what happens when the clinic reaches capacity. These details may differ between partners, so they should be documented during setup rather than presented as universal policies.
A realistic partnership assessment therefore looks at both sides of the model. Delia Global needs to understand which patient opportunities are relevant to the clinic, while the clinic needs to confirm that it can consult, treat and follow up with those patients consistently.
Beyond referrals: the wider Delia Global partnership
Business Partnership is one of four pillars within the wider Delia Global model. The other three are Training Transfer, Lab Supply, and CRM and Management Systems.
Training Transfer focuses on hands-on clinical training through Delia’s facility in Vietnam. Lab Supply allows clinics to use Delia Global’s dental laboratory production system. CRM and Management Systems support patient communication, treatment tracking and follow-up within one management environment.
These pillars address different constraints and should not be presented as automatic components of every referral agreement. A clinic may begin with the area most relevant to its current operation and discuss additional services as its needs develop. The exact combination should be confirmed with the Delia Global team.
For a broader explanation of the model, see Delia Global: A Partnership Model for Dental Clinics Expanding Across Borders.
FAQ
Is there an upfront marketing cost for patient acquisition?
No upfront marketing cost is required under Delia Global’s published Business Partnership model. Revenue is shared when patients proceed through the process agreed during partnership setup. Any additional commercial or setup terms should be confirmed directly with Delia Global.
Does Delia Global make treatment decisions?
No. The partner clinic remains responsible for consultation, diagnosis, treatment planning, treatment acceptance and care delivery. Delia Global supports patient acquisition and qualification within the Business Partnership pillar.
Is every qualified lead guaranteed to become a patient?
No. Qualification takes place before a potential patient is directed to the clinic, but it does not guarantee treatment. The clinic must still confirm clinical suitability, and the patient must decide whether to accept the proposed plan.
How is revenue shared?
Delia Global does not publish one fixed percentage for every partnership. The revenue-sharing structure, applicable patient process and reporting requirements are established during partnership setup.
Does a clinic have to accept every case?
Delia Global’s published information does not state one universal acceptance policy. The partner clinic remains responsible for consultation and diagnosis, so clinical suitability must still be determined by the treating clinic. Capacity and relevant case types should be discussed during setup.
Can a clinic start with Business Partnership before using the other pillars?
The wider Delia Global model allows clinics to begin with the area most relevant to their current operational constraint. However, the exact starting arrangement and combination of services should be confirmed directly with the Delia Global team.
Final thoughts
Delia Global’s referral model separates patient acquisition from clinical care without treating them as disconnected activities.
Delia Global generates and qualifies potential patients before directing them to a partner clinic. The clinic does not pay an upfront marketing cost for that acquisition activity. It remains responsible for consultation, diagnosis, treatment acceptance and care delivery, while revenue is shared through the process agreed during partnership setup.
For the partnership to work, the clinic needs more than an interest in receiving additional leads. It also needs the capacity to respond, consult and treat suitable patients consistently.
Clinic owners interested in the model can contact Delia Global with an overview of their location, clinical team, main treatments, current patient volume and primary operational challenge. The team can then assess whether Business Partnership or another Delia Global pillar is the most relevant starting point.
