How to find physicians not on LinkedIn

Ben Argeband, Founder & CEO of Heartbeat.ai — Relief page: give a 3-day plan and channel table.

Who this is for

You’re a recruiter tapped out on LinkedIn. Your req is still open, and your team is spending too much time staring at the same profiles.

Many clinicians keep a low online profile or limit what’s visible in search. If you only work one channel, your reachable market shrinks and your speed-to-submittal slows. This playbook is the workflow I use to find physicians not on LinkedIn using an identity-first list build, verification, and a multi-channel sequence that fits real clinic schedules.

Quick Answer

Core Answer

Start with NPI to anchor identity, verify direct contact channels, then run email + call + SMS with suppression and refresh to reach physicians not on LinkedIn.

Key Statistic

Heartbeat observed typicals: connect rate ~10% typical (operational benchmark only; not a claim about social-network coverage).

Best For

Recruiters tapped out on LinkedIn.

Compliance & Safety

This method is for legitimate recruiting outreach only. Always respect candidate privacy, opt-out requests, and local data laws. Heartbeat does not provide medical advice or legal counsel.

Primary page for this topic: off-platform physician sourcing (canonical).

Framework: The “Off-LinkedIn” Play: Build → Verify → Reach → Follow Up → Refresh

• Build: Create a target universe that doesn’t depend on social profiles.
• Verify: Confirm identity and contactability before outreach.
• Reach: Use multiple channels so you’re not blocked by one inbox or one call window.
• Follow Up: Tight cadence with clean notes and suppression.
• Refresh: Re-verify and update so your list doesn’t decay into bounces and wrong numbers.

Buying static lists is risky because of decay. The modern standard is Access + Refresh + Verification + Suppression.

Step-by-step method

Step 1: Build your universe with NPI as the identity anchor

When LinkedIn search runs dry, you need an index that doesn’t depend on profiles. In the U.S., the cleanest starting point is NPI (National Provider Identifier). If you’re recruiting outside the U.S., use the local clinician registry equivalent as your identity anchor.

• Define the req in operational terms: specialty, setting, geography, schedule/call, start date, and whether it’s permanent or locum tenens.
• Pull a starting universe from NPI and narrow by what affects placement speed: distance to facility, coverage model, and credentialing constraints.
• Capture identifiers you can match later: NPI, practice address, and any public office line (useful for routing through a gatekeeper).

Step 2: Add compliant non-social sources (no scraping)

NPI is your anchor. Then add context from sources that are often more complete than social profiles. Use only permitted access and respect site terms; do not use automated extraction where it’s prohibited.

• Health system and hospital provider directories (for current affiliation and location)
• Group practice websites (for office routing and specialty confirmation)
• Conference agendas and speaker lists (for clinical interests and recent activity)
• Specialty society directories where accessible (for membership signals)

Step 3: Define “good contact” before you enrich

Most teams enrich first and define quality later. That’s how you end up with a big list that can’t be worked. Define your minimum viable record:

• Verified contacts: at least one deliverable email and one callable phone path (direct mobile preferred).
• Role fit: specialty and current practice location match your need.
• Suppression: do-not-contact, opt-out, wrong person, retired, and “never locums” flags.

The trade-off is… you’ll build a smaller list than a bulk export, but it will move faster because it’s contactable and suppressible.

Step 4: Verify identity and contactability before outreach

Off-platform sourcing works when you treat verification as part of the workflow, not a one-time cleanup. Your goal is to avoid three expensive errors: wrong person, wrong channel, wrong timing.

• Identity match: confirm the physician by NPI + practice location + specialty/taxonomy to reduce same-name mistakes.
• Email verification: confirm deliverability before sequencing; suppress hard bounces quickly.
• Phone verification: confirm the number is callable; prioritize direct mobile when available; keep office lines for routing.

In Heartbeat.ai workflows, teams prioritize verified contacts and line tested phone paths so recruiters spend time talking to clinicians, not chasing dead ends.

Step 5: Reach with a clinician-friendly multi-channel sequence

Clinicians don’t sit in inboxes all day, and many won’t answer unknown numbers during clinic. Multi-channel gives you multiple chances to connect without being noisy.

• Email for context and credibility (who you are, why them, what the role is, and the fastest next step).
• Call for speed when the role is urgent or high-margin.
• SMS for short scheduling prompts after an email or call attempt, with clear opt-out.
• Office line for routing when you don’t have a direct path (use it to confirm affiliation and request the best channel).

If you want a ready-made cadence, use: physician recruiting sequence (email + SMS + call).

Channel table: best use, failure mode, and what to do next

Step 6: Follow up with clean notes and fast suppression

Follow-up is where teams either quit too early or create complaints. Keep it tight and track outcomes:

• Every touch adds value: schedule, call burden, start date, credentialing timeline, or comp structure (if permitted).
• Use one close-the-loop message that makes it easy to say no.
• Suppress immediately on opt-out, wrong person, or “do not contact.”

Step 7: Refresh so your list doesn’t rot

Contact data decays. People change groups, switch hospitals, and rotate coverage. Build refresh into your workflow:

• Refresh contactability on a schedule tied to your hiring cycle (faster refresh for urgent locums).
• Re-verify before re-sequencing older records.
• Keep suppression centralized so multiple recruiters don’t double-tap the same physician.

Diagnostic Table:

Weighted Checklist:

Use this to decide if a record is ready for outreach. Score each item 0–2 and work the highest totals first.

• (2) NPI matched to current practice location and specialty (identity anchored)
• (2) At least one deliverable email (verified contacts)
• (2) At least one callable phone path; mobile preferred; marked line tested when available
• (2) Suppression checked: prior opt-out, do-not-contact, wrong person, retired
• (1) Role fit confirmed: schedule/call burden aligns with your opening
• (1) Message angle chosen: schedule, location, comp structure (if permitted), or mission
• (1) Next step defined: 10-minute call, text-confirmed time, or “reply with best number”

Heartbeat.ai note: when teams have access to ranked mobile numbers by answer probability, start with the top-ranked line to reduce wasted dials and speed up first conversations.

Outreach Templates:

Email 1 (initial)

Subject: Quick question about your availability

Hi Dr. [Last Name] — I’m [Name], recruiting for [Facility/Group] in [City]. We’re looking for a [Specialty] physician for [locums/permanent] coverage starting [timeframe].

Two quick details: [1 sentence on schedule/call] and [1 sentence on comp structure if permitted]. If it’s easier, reply with the best number/time and I’ll work around clinic.

If you’d prefer I don’t reach out again, reply “opt out” and I’ll update my list.

— [Signature]

Voicemail (10–15 seconds)

“Dr. [Last Name], this is [Name] recruiting for [Facility] in [City]. I emailed you details on a [locums/permanent] [Specialty] need. If you’re open, reply to that email or text me at [number].”

SMS (after an email or a call attempt)

“Dr. [Last Name] — [Name] here (recruiting, [Facility/City]). Sent you an email about a [Specialty] [locums/permanent] need. Open to a 10-min call today or tomorrow? Reply YES + a time. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Close-the-loop email (final)

Subject: Should I close this out?

Hi Dr. [Last Name] — I don’t want to be a pest. Should I close out the [Specialty] [locums/permanent] role for you, or is it worth a quick 10-minute call this week?

If you’d like no further outreach, reply “opt out” and I’ll update my records.

Common pitfalls

• Building a giant list before defining “contactable.” You’ll feel productive and then stall when records bounce or route to a front desk.
• Confusing connected with answered. A connected call can be voicemail or IVR. Track both so you fix the right problem.
• No suppression discipline. If you don’t honor opt-outs fast, you create compliance risk and brand damage.
• Not centralizing suppression across recruiters. If one person gets an opt-out and another keeps messaging, you create avoidable complaints.
• Delaying suppression until end of week. Suppress immediately when you have an opt-out, wrong-person confirmation, or do-not-contact request.
• One-channel persistence. Email-only or call-only is slower. Multi-channel wins when contacts are verified and current.
• Over-personalizing without a next step. Clinicians respond to clarity: what it is, why them, and the fastest way to say yes/no.

How to improve results

Measure this by… tracking each stage with consistent denominators and reviewing weekly. If you can’t see where the funnel breaks, you can’t fix it.

Metric definitions (use consistently)

• Connect Rate = connected calls / total dials (per 100 dials).
• Answer Rate = human answers / connected calls (per 100 connected calls).
• Deliverability Rate = delivered emails / sent emails (per 100 sent emails).
• Bounce Rate = bounced emails / sent emails (per 100 sent emails).
• Reply Rate = replies / delivered emails (per 100 delivered emails).

Outcome codes (so your team logs the same way)

• Interested (schedule call)
• Not now (set a follow-up date)
• Never (suppress)
• Wrong person (suppress and backfill)
• Opt-out (suppress across all channels)
• No response (eligible for refresh + re-verify before re-sequence)

Locum tenens vs permanent: what to change

• Locum tenens: prioritize speed and contactability. If Connect Rate is low, fix phone paths first. If Connect Rate is fine but Answer Rate is low, adjust call windows and voicemail-to-email handoff.
• Permanent: prioritize fit and credibility. If Deliverability Rate is low, fix verification and sending practices. If Deliverability Rate is fine but Reply Rate is low, tighten targeting and rewrite the first two lines to match the physician’s likely constraints.

Uniqueness hook: 3-day rapid outreach plan (with branching logic)

This is the 3-day plan I’d run when you need conversations now. It forces fast learning and keeps your team out of endless list-building.

1. Day 1 (Build + Verify + First touch):
   • Pull your target universe (NPI-anchored) and select a workable batch for today.
   • Verify email deliverability and phone contactability; apply suppression (opt-out/DNC/wrong person).
   • Send Email 1 to everyone who passes verification.
   • Branch: if a record has a verified mobile, queue it for calls on Day 2; if not, queue it for office-line routing plus email follow-up.
2. Day 2 (Call + SMS where appropriate):
   • Call the verified mobile list first; leave the short voicemail that points back to the email.
   • Send SMS only after an email or call attempt, and always include opt-out language.
   • Branch: if you get “not me” or “retired,” suppress immediately and backfill from your NPI universe.
3. Day 3 (Follow-up + Close the loop):
   • Send the close-the-loop email to non-responders with deliverable email.
   • Re-verify any record that bounced or had repeated failed call attempts before trying again.
   • Branch: if deliverability is fine but replies are low, tighten targeting and rewrite the first two lines; if deliverability is low, fix verification and sending practices before scaling.

Legal and ethical use

This is recruiting outreach, not a loophole. Keep it clean:

• Consent and context: Use outreach only for legitimate recruiting interest. Don’t misrepresent who you are or why you’re contacting them.
• Opt-out: Make it easy, honor it quickly, and suppress across all channels.
• Data minimization: Store only what you need to recruit and document outcomes (interested/not interested/wrong person).
• Local laws and policies: Follow applicable privacy, telemarketing, and email rules for your jurisdiction and organization. Heartbeat does not provide legal counsel.

Evidence and trust notes

Two realities drive this playbook: (1) not every member is equally visible or discoverable in social-network search, and (2) NPI is a universal index for U.S. clinicians. If you recruit outside the U.S., use the local registry equivalent as your identity anchor. References:

• LinkedIn member visibility basics (visibility settings and member visibility affect discoverability)
• NPPES NPI Registry (NPI as an identity anchor)
• How we think about data quality and verification: Heartbeat trust methodology

If you’re evaluating data access options, start here for what “database” should mean in practice: physician contact database buying criteria.

FAQs

What’s the safest starting point to build an off-platform physician list?

Use NPI as your identity anchor, then enrich with verified contact channels. It reduces same-name errors and keeps your list tied to real practice locations.

How do I avoid wasting dials when I’m calling physicians directly?

Prioritize verified mobile paths, call in clinician-friendly windows, and track Connect Rate (connected calls / total dials, per 100 dials) so you can see if the issue is data or timing.

Should I use email, call, or SMS first?

For most roles: email first for context, then call for speed, then SMS as a short scheduling nudge after an email/call attempt. Always include opt-out and suppress quickly.

How often should I refresh contact data?

Refresh on a schedule tied to your hiring cycle. For urgent locum tenens needs, refresh more frequently; for longer-cycle searches, re-verify before re-sequencing older records.

Where can I get direct mobile numbers or personal emails for physicians?

Use these guides: how to get physicians’ direct mobile numbers and how to find physicians’ personal email.

Next steps

• Read the canonical overview: off-platform physician sourcing (canonical).
• Build a verified list you can work today: start free search & preview data.
• Ready to operationalize access + refresh + suppression for your team? get my data access.

About the Author

Ben Argeband is the Founder and CEO of Swordfish.ai and Heartbeat.ai. With deep expertise in data and SaaS, he has built two successful platforms trusted by over 50,000 sales and recruitment professionals. Ben’s mission is to help teams find direct contact information for hard-to-reach professionals and decision-makers, providing the shortest route to their next win. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn.