Referral management and tracking

Purpose

1.1. Automate the management and tracking of patient referrals to and from cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons for streamlined communication, status visibility, compliance, record synchronization, outcome measurement, and faster patient onboarding.
1.2. Automates the capture, update, notification, and reporting of referral activities among referrers, specialists, administrative staff, and patients via omni-channel workflows and EHR data exchange.
1.3. Supports automated reminders, confirmation of referral receipt, appointment scheduling, follow-up tracking, and closure or escalation of open referrals, ensuring no case is lost or delayed.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Automated creation of a patient referral in an EHR or CRM system.
2.2. Receipt of a referral via email, fax, secure portal, or API from another provider or hospital.
2.3. A patient status update or outcome result triggering automated referral closure or escalation protocols.
2.4. Scheduled interval (e.g., daily/weekly) checks for open or incomplete referrals.

Platform Variants

3.1. Salesforce Health Cloud
• Feature/Setting: Flow Builder, Health Cloud APIs; automate referral entity creation, status transitions, and notifications.

3.2. Epic (EHR)
• Feature/Setting: Interconnect API, Referrals module; automatedly track inbound/outbound referrals from connected practices/hospitals.

3.3. Cerner Millennium
• Feature/Setting: HealtheIntent APIs, referral Smart Templates; automate referral documentation and tracking in patient records.

3.4. Athenahealth
• Feature/Setting: API Suite—encounter and ordering endpoints automate referral creation and update.

3.5. DrChrono
• Feature/Setting: Clinical API—referral and task objects; automate status checks and provider communications.

3.6. Google Sheets
• Feature/Setting: Sheets API; automate referral logs, status sync, and notifications to coordinators.

3.7. Microsoft Power Automate
• Feature/Setting: Flow triggers—automate intake from email, faxes, and update process in connected apps.

3.8. Zoho CRM
• Feature/Setting: Workflows and custom modules; automate referral lead capture, assignment, and follow-ups.

3.9. HubSpot
• Feature/Setting: Workflows, CRM API; automates referral deal/task creation, reminders, and pipeline tracking.

3.10. Twilio SMS
• Feature/Setting: Messaging API—automated text reminders to patients and referring MDs on referral status.

3.11. SendGrid
• Feature/Setting: Transactional Mail API—automate secure email updates regarding referral progress.

3.12. Slack
• Feature/Setting: Incoming Webhooks and Workflow Builder; automate notifications to staff channels on new referrals.

3.13. Microsoft Teams
• Feature/Setting: Adaptive Cards via Graph API; automated alerts for referral actions to clinical staff.

3.14. Monday.com
• Feature/Setting: Automation Recipes; automate board updates and reminders for each referral step.

3.15. Trello
• Feature/Setting: Butler automation or API; automate card creation and movement through referral pipeline.

3.16. Airtable
• Feature/Setting: Automations and Scripting; automate status changes, notifications, and cross-table syncing.

3.17. DocuSign
• Feature/Setting: API—automate sending referral consent documents for digital patient signature.

3.18. Google Drive
• Feature/Setting: Drive API—automates upload/storage of referral packets and scans in shared folders.

3.19. SharePoint
• Feature/Setting: Automated Flow integration; sync referral docs with patient folders.

3.20. Zapier
• Feature/Setting: Multi-step Zaps, Webhooks; automate integrations between disparate tools in the referral process.

3.21. Intercom
• Feature/Setting: Message API—automate patient follow-up and education about their referral.

3.22. Freshdesk
• Feature/Setting: Automations; ticketing system automates referral queries and escalation.

3.23. Formstack
• Feature/Setting: Forms & Workflows; automate digital referral form intake and routing logic.

3.24. Clio Grow
• Feature/Setting: Workflows; automate patient onboarding and referral progress communications.

Benefits

4.1. Automates referral intake, eliminates manual entry, and boosts throughput.
4.2. Automated tracking and notifications reduce missed or stalled referrals, improving patient care timeliness.
4.3. Streamlined, automator-driven processes enhance compliance and documentation accuracy.
4.4. Automation cuts admin time, reduces errors, and accelerates referral-to-appointment scheduling.
4.5. Data-rich automations enable detailed analytics on referral sources, conversion, and outcomes.