Speed is the whole game
A discharge planner needs a bed today. Aim to acknowledge every referral within the hour and give a clear yes, no or what-you-need-from-them the same day.
One place for every referral
Referrals arrive by phone, email, fax and text. If they live in four places, someone will miss one. Put every referral in one list the moment it arrives — including the source and who received it.
Track the source, not just the patient
Record who referred each patient: hospital, doctor, social worker, case manager, shelter, recuperative care, family or self. Over months this tells you which relationships are worth a visit every week.
- Referrals per source
- Move-ins per source
- Average days to decision
- Referrals lost and why
Watch for duplicates and re-admits
The same patient is often referred twice under slightly different names. Check for duplicates on entry, and flag past do-not-admit decisions with their reason.
Close the loop with the referrer
Tell the referrer what happened. Social workers remember the facility that called them back.
Where ALFIntake fits
ALFIntake gives every referral one record, warns about duplicates, credits the referral recipient, files emailed attachments automatically and reports conversion by source and facility.