Referral management is an increasingly important part of managing the patient experience and coordinating care within a clinically integrated network (CIN). Yet, often times, referral workflows and trends are poorly documented and misunderstood. Our organization, Fibroblast, a patient referral management solution company, conducted a survey of over one hundred physicians across thirty specialties to quantify how their referral processes work and how they affect providing care. Our data revealed three major conclusions:
Patients do not follow-up
Our data revealed that approximately 33% of patients do not follow-up with the specialist to whom they are referred. That’s worse than the adherence rate for most prescription medications![i] Put another way, only two out of every three patients actually receive the care that they need when a referral is made. This gap in adherence results in higher acuity cases, poor patient outcomes, and millions of dollars of cost to healthcare organizations annually. In an increasingly risk-based environment, providers cannot afford this gap in care.



