It’s Time for a New Approach to Referring Patients

May 19, 2022

It's Time for a New Approach to Referring Patients

When PCPs find the process of referring patients difficult, it can put both the patient’s health and the provider’s revenue at risk. Today, these breakdowns happen far too often. Of the estimated 100 million subspecialty referrals completed. Why? While the reasons are complex, one of the primary culprits is communication—or lack thereof. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and CRICO have outlined recommendations for a closed-loop referral system. Each one—from the primary care provider (PCP) ordering the referral to the specialist talking with the PCP to the PCP talking with the patient about the care plan—plays an essential role in a successful referral.

Three Steps Providers to Communicate Better when Referring Patients

1. Embrace Change

Some providers think that because they already have a well-honed referral process in place, they don’t need to improve how they manage referrals. What they don’t understand is that the effort made to improve the process can bring a substantial return on their investment. It is estimated that uncompleted referrals cost providers $40 million in lost revenue opportunity each year.

The cost of settling for the status quo is even more impactful on patient health and quality outcomes. This is evident in referral-related malpractice claims, of which 83% are considered to have a “high severity of harm.”  Nearly one-fourth of malpractice claims involve a failure to refer. So while the well-honed process may fit comfortably within existing workflows, they inhibit the ability to close the loop on referrals and to keep patients safe.

2. Say Goodbye to Faxing—Finally

It can be hard to believe that in 2022, paper faxing is still considered a viable method of communication anywhere, but especially in healthcare, where those faxes are full of PHI. Even with a dedicated staff, manual processes for referring patients—especially those dependent on paper faxing—are costly and rife with the potential for errors. A survey conducted by IDC (International Data Corp) found that standalone fax machines still make up 36% of faxing volume in finance, healthcare, government, and manufacturing. Across all sectors, 42% of respondents said they thought employees spend too much time on faxing, and 39% reported that the costs—including manual labor and paper—are too high. Twenty-four percent also indicated they struggled with high-volume faxing. While the move to digital faxing can help, it still doesn’t leverage the full potential of digital communications technology.

Completion rate of referring patients is much higher when using a referral management platform.

Coordination of patient referrals can eliminate communication gaps and increase completion rates to more than 95%.

3. Leverage Online Referrals

A study of outpatient referrals found that web-based processes can increase scheduling by almost three times while reducing the median time to schedule an appointment by more than 50%. Providers and specialists can improve communications to reduce patient referral wait time by switching to an online process for referring patients. According to our research, providers can expect to reduce the time it takes to complete a referral from days to just three minutes.

Specialists can use online referrals to grow their provider network and gain a competitive advantage. They can offer providers access to customized online referral forms, which can be completed in just 90 seconds. Providers can view online profiles to ensure patients get to the appropriate specialists. Online referral forms allow providers to enter as much detail as is needed about the patient and the reason for the referral. This ensures that specialists are ready for the patient when they arrive, which increases efficiencies and improves the patient experience.

Another benefit of online referrals is that they are accessible from any mobile device. Staff isn’t glued to the fax machine or their desktop. Referrals could even be completed while the patient is still in the exam room.

The Time to Act is Now

In the age of pay-for-performance, providers can’t afford to hold on to outdated, inefficient, costly processes. This is especially true when those processes directly impact care outcomes. Leveraging online referral tools is an easy alternative and requires no large IT investments, no lengthy implementations, and very little staff training.

Patients trust that their providers are working together to provide the best healthcare. It’s time to meet those expectations.