Utilizing Referral Programs to Enhance Patient Care and Grow Your Business

Direct Referral Programs

Simply put, business referral revenue is the income generated from referrals to your business and is a form of indirect marketing that can increase sales and your organization's awareness. Referral revenue can come from various sources, including patients, vendors, and care partners.

Patient Referral Programs

Patient Referral Programs are a great way to ensure patients receive the best care possible while reinvesting in your base. For example, a patient may refer a friend to your clinic from a business because of the fantastic care they received or because they felt heard by their care team. Not only is this a thrilled patient who will likely return to your practice, but they are singing your organization's praises to their friends and family for free, bringing in additional possibilities for revenue.

Vendor Referral Programs

Vendor Referral Programs may seem cut and dry, but they can save your organization time and money if handled correctly. For example, Clinic A partners with electronic health record (EHR)-B for all their patient records, claims, and even orders processing for essential services such as pharmacy and lab. Clinic A considers EHR-B to be tremendous and recommends them to their clinical partners, and in doing so, EHR-B gives them a substantial discount. Another version of this scenario could be that EHR-B partners with Pharmacy-C for free pharmaceutical delivery for all clients just for using their service. In light of this, now Clinic A could utilize that pharmaceutical delivery service as an added benefit for their customers.

Provider Referral Programs

Provider Referral Programs are those where fellow providers refer directly to other specialists or services that may be better suited to meet their patient's needs. This helps to avoid unnecessary delays in care, reduce costs, and provide better continuity of care. These types of referral programs also help to ensure that patients receive the most appropriate care and that they are not being referred to services that are not necessary or not appropriate for their condition. Rapid, provider-to-provider referrals with positive patient outcomes and engaged support staff benefit all parties involved.

We get it, building trust in your provider community takes time. But there are ways to maximize your efforts while minimizing the employee hours needed to accomplish this goal. Reach out today to see how we can assist getting your great medical care reputation out there.