Set Your Practice Up For Patient Referral Success
Looking to increase patient referrals this year? How user-friendly and effective is your current process in connecting referring doctors and their patients with your practice? Sophrona can help set your practice up for patient referral success.
3-minute read
At this year’s ASCRS, it was clear that practices are searching for innovative ways to combat Medicare cuts, address staffing shortages, and focus on practice building initiatives that impact the bottom line.
Focusing on patient referral success is often overlooked…but it shouldn’t be.
In fact, focusing on how your practice manages referrals could be the most cost effective line item in your budget this year. We can help you calculate the cost of lost referrals as well as the ROI of managing them more efficiently.
It’s also important to understand your referral funnel. Your funnel illustrates the different paths that referrals enter your practice. Sophrona can help grow your practice by reducing lost referrals through superior referral management. Check out our other post on What is a Referral Funnel, Examples, How to Measure.
Have you examined how to streamline the referral process at your practice? Sophrona can help set your practice up for patient referral success, making it faster, more accurate, and more convenient for both providers and patients. The Referral Portal is a secure online platform that allows practices to manage referrals electronically, from start to finish.
Where does the patient referral process break down?
Let’s look closely at patient referral data.
Coordination of care between doctors plays a vital role in maintaining the health of patients. In cases where a referral to a specialist becomes essential, a smooth and efficient referral process is crucial to ensure patients receive timely and appropriate care.
Unfortunately, many medical practices struggle with referral management. Statistics suggest that each year, a significant number of patient referrals are lost.
A study released by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Patient Safety Foundation found that of the millions of subspecialist referral appointments requested each year in the US, approximately half are never completed.
According to another study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, 70% of referring doctors reported sending the reason for a referral to a specialist “most of the time” while only 35% of specialists reported receiving that information.
Referrals from primary care providers to specialists are often lost or incomplete due to missing information or a lack of follow through by the referring provider, the specialist, or the patient. Manual processes, such as faxing or emailing referrals, can be time-consuming, error-prone, and inefficient. This can lead to delays in patient care, a poor patient experience, diminished communication between your practice and co-managing doctors, and even lost revenue for the practice.
These statistics highlight the importance of a referral process that includes robust follow-up procedures to ensure the patient appointment is scheduled and completed.
Sophrona can help.
Medical practices need an easy, efficient way for referring doctors to send referrals, track the progress of referrals, and send updates on patient care.
Sophrona’s Referral Portal is a leading solution that streamlines the referral process. Providing practices with a platform that facilitates efficient communication and follow-up between providers reduces the risk of lost referrals and ensures that patients receive the care they need.
It is also incredibly user-friendly. Referring doctors can easily access the portal from the practice’s website. The doctor or their staff can complete the referral process before the patient leaves their office.
We know that convenience is key. Using Sophrona’s Referral Portal, the patient leaves the referring doctor’s office with an appointment in hand. This saves the practice time and resources by reducing back and forth phone calls or emails related to scheduling the patient.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Sophrona’s Referral Portal can enhance patient care, reduce lost referrals, and increase revenue, schedule a demo today. Contact us to see how Sophrona’s Referral Portal can work for your practice by improving your referral process and setting your practice up with patient referral success.
Sources:
1. Closing the Loop: A Guide to Safer Ambulatory Referrals in the EHR Era. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement / National Patient Safety Foundation; 2017. https://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Publications/Closing-the-Loop-A-Guide-to-Safer-Ambulatory-Referrals.aspx
2. Ann S. O’Malley, MD, MPHJames D. Reschovsky, PhD. “Referral and Consultation Communication Between Primary Care and Specialist Physicians: Finding Common Ground.” Archives of Internal Medicine; 2011. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21220662