It’s no secret that access to healthcare is a challenge for patients. And it’s becoming harder and harder for patients to get appointments with their PCP or the specialists they have been referred to for advanced care. Now more than ever providers and their staff are faced with a growing number of challenges that prevent or delay them from doing what they are all there to do: get patients in front of a doctor to determine how to get them well. One of the biggest villains in this story is the old fax machine. No matter the practice’s type or patient volume, there are so many ways things can go wrong with a fax-dependent process that is nearly impossible to standardize, has no real built-in accountability and is dependent on significant levels of coordinated communication.
That’s why it’s vital for a practice to have processes, goals, and measurements that align with that core objective of both getting patients to schedule appointments and of course come in for their appointments. The easiest way to accomplish this is by managing the practice’s referral-to-appointment ratio, otherwise known as RTA. Aligning the staff’s objectives to optimize a practice’s RTA ratio means more patients are getting the care they need while simultaneously ensuring a practice’s financial health is secure.
What is an RTA?
The referral-to-appointment ratio is the most important metric in healthcare. In simple math, the RTA ratio is the number of total referrals received in a given time period divided by the number of patients who actually walk through the door for an appointment. It’s a number that more than 95% of health system managers and executives struggle to measure and find impossible to manage. To equate this to other industries, the RTA ratio is essentially the close rate in sales or the lead conversion rate as a marketer. It’s a true success metric on how well the business (or practice in this case) is performing.
Why is the RTA ratio important?
Every other industry scrutinizes, manages, and ultimately owns conversion metrics across their business. Why should healthcare be any different? Metrics and measurements have always posed a challenge for healthcare with issues such as the inability to track how long it takes to acknowledge receipt of a referral; how many referrals actually convert to patients walking through doors for appointments (a.k.a. RTA ratio); why patients don’t convert to appointments; and the average number of days it takes to secure a patient’s appointment. For both patients and providers, these metrics are the ones that matter most because they correlate back to how quickly a patient can be seen by a provider.
Metrics, especially an RTA ratio, act as the foundation for value-based care organizations, allowing them to confidently take on more risk while simultaneously empowering those who are focused on the traditional fee-for-service model to succeed. A strong ratio helps keep patients in-network, adds a layer of accountability between referring providers and builds stronger communications and partnerships that are better equipped to support patients throughout their healthcare journey. A high RTA benefits all stakeholders by getting patients the care they need in a timely manner and by supporting current, and most importantly, future healthcare delivery models.
Three simple ways to improve RTA
The RTA ratio clearly benefits providers and patients alike. Providers and other practice leaders can lean into its management with three simple steps that help to capture, monitor, and ultimately improve an RTA.
1. Ditch the fax machine
Going digital is the single most important shift in philosophy and process that is needed to truly take practices to the next level. Choosing a referral management platform will help them standardize the referral process across all staff, hold each of them accountable to their role in said process, and create the foundation for a treasure trove of data that will instantly become critical to the practice leaders’ decision making.
2. Increase visibility into the patient’s care coordination
The key to quick and seamless care coordination is an understanding of who is working on what and when do others need to take action in regards to a patient’s transition of care. This context is critical for both internal staff as well as referring providers and can ensure that the ball isn’t dropped by any key stakeholders. Additionally, visibility unearths accountability and with a care coordination platform that allows for digital communication instead of faxes and phone calls, a gentle nudge can be applied to anyone who may account for a delay in the transition of care.
3. Identify bottlenecks in your referral process
When analyzing any process, zeroing in on any potential bottlenecks and addressing them quickly is the urgent course correction needed to ensure a process gets back to it’s normal flow. The speed at which a patient moves through the care coordination process could significantly impact the patient’s health and whether or not they follow through with receiving care. If a bottleneck in the referral process arises (whether it be on the sending or receiving side) being able to quickly, accurately identify and correct it provides the best possible opportunity for patients and providers to work together towards a shared vision for a positive health outcome.
Bonus tip: Use patient engagement
After implementing the previous three steps, practices will certainly see a big jump in the number of referrals that turn into completed appointments. Building on that success, any opportunity to confirm, speed up, or simplify the patient’s ability to attend their scheduled appointment should be incorporated in the referral process wherever possible. Using patient engagement features such as appointment reminders, driving directions, and pre-appointment forms to be completed before the visit that can be either emailed or texted to patients will significantly increase the likelihood that the patient will attend the appointment. These features can also serve as “red flags” and opportunities to reach out to ensure there are no undiscovered challenges that have been introduced somewhere along the way.
The importance of the referral-to-appointment ratio cannot be understated. When it is mismanaged, patients are delayed important care and providers are missing out on significant volume and revenue increases. Retooling to help practices connect, communicate, and collect the proper information needed to manage that ratio is mission-critical to healthcare moving forward. Hospitals consolidate and close and reimbursements requirements create greater complications and barriers to receiving care. With these industry shifts, providers will need to embrace innovative, dynamic processes that support patients through their care journey and have the ability to evolve with their changing needs and whatever else the industry and regulators throw at them next.
About Curtis Gattis
Curtis Gattis is the CEO and co-founder of LeadingReach, a healthcare technology company helping care teams communicate more effectively with each other while monitoring and facilitating care transitions. With 20 years of experience conceptualizing new products, bringing them to market and scaling software companies, Gattis brings a unique perspective to the healthcare industry.
