55% of Rehab Practices Lack Strategy to Convert & Retain Patient Referrals

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinicient Inc., a leader in outpatient rehabilitation business solutions, today announced that it polled 571 physical therapy and rehabilitation professionals about patient referral management. According to the six-question, brand neutral survey, 55 percent of respondents have no measurable strategy for converting referrals into successful patients who complete therapy. The survey results also indicate that poor referral management is costing over half of all rehab practices revenue at precisely the same time that payers are decreasing reimbursements.

Results of Clincient's Referral Management Survey:

The average value of a patient referral is $1,000ⁱ. In order to capitalize on this value, rehab practice owners and therapists must strategically manage referrals and patient engagement from the start of treatment to finish. Many physical therapists assume that the process of winning a referral begins and ends with the patient's phone call to schedule an appointment. In actuality, scheduling an appointment is the first of many steps in ensuring a successful referral experience.

"The secret for turning referrals into loyal patients is satisfaction. And using software is one of the best ways to create satisfied referrals and referrers," said Lance Labno, PT, and owner of Movement Solutions in Wilmette, IL. "I treat self-referred patients who hear about us from their friends and family, so having a clear referral management process is not an option for me. My practice depends on how well I measure and track my patient relationships. I could not do this without Clinicient, which identifies if a referral is slipping through cracks and gauges how successful my staff and I are in cultivating referral relationships."

Clinicient automatically prompts therapists to reach out to patients and referrers at critical relationship points, as well as tracks key referral metrics, such as conversion rate, scheduling frequency, preventing patient drop out, and increasing patient retention. Clinicient's revenue cycle experts also use this data to coach therapy practices to maximize the value of every referral.

"Although physical therapy is a referral-based business, many therapists and practice owners do not fully understand referral management. Clinicient helps demystify — and automate — the process so therapists can focus on what they care most about: treating patients," said Rick Jung, chairman and CEO of Clinicient. "Our clinical and financial data automates the steps therapists must take to convert referrals into new patients, keep patients engaged and referring physicians satisfied. As reimbursements shrink throughout the industry, referral management should be on the front of every therapist's mind."

As of January 13, 2015, 571 participants completed the web-based survey, which launched on August 18, 2014. Respondents were not paid for their time or prescreened to skew the results. Clinicient's Referral Playbook, a digital resource kit filled with referral information and tools, was available to address immediate concerns participants might have after viewing their survey results. 

Founded in 2004, Clinicient supports thousands of therapists in 45 states across the United States and facilitates the collection of nearly $1 billion in annual payments.

About Clinicient
Clinicient helps outpatient rehabilitation therapy businesses manage change with a combination of cloud-based EMR, practice management, and revenue cycle management solutions that optimize the entire care cycle from patient to payment. With nearly $1 billion in payments under management, Clinicient's solution maximizes payment while enabling therapists to deliver superior clinical outcomes that enhance the value of therapy to patient population health management. Clinicient is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more information call (877) 312-6494 or visit http://www.clinicient.com or follow Twitter @Clinicient. 

ⁱ According to data gathered by Clinicient, with an average payment per visit of around $93 and an average number of visits per case of 10.75, a referral is worth approximately $1000. 

SOURCE Clinicient Inc.

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http://www.clinicient.com