Strong Referral Network Integrity Requires Continuum-Wide Communication and Data Sharing

Originally posted in The American Journal of Managed Care

This article was authored by Will O’Connor, MD, the chief medical information officer of TigerConnect.

Millions of patients are referred for specialized services each year, but as many as 45% will never make it to the referred-to clinic or hospital. Missed referrals and other appointments account for more than $150 billion in lost revenue and wasted time for healthcare organizations and costs nearly $1 million per year per employed physician.

A major driver behind these skipped patient referrals is lack of coordination and follow-up. For example, the patient is handed a phone number and instructed to schedule an appointment with the recommended provider. In some referral cases, the healthcare organization will schedule the appointment on behalf of the patient at the point of care; however, this is often without confirming or sharing crucial background about why the patient was referred.

Read the full article here.