For imaging, PT & specialty practices
A Doctor Sent You a Patient Last Tuesday. Where Are They Now?
Somewhere between the referral and your schedule, sent patients vanish — and the office that sent them is quietly keeping score. We measure your intake, then fix the vanishing.
Score Your IntakeFree · 10 questions · about 3 minutes · scored 0–100 with a written report
Every Sent Patient, Accounted For
At Referrals 63, we measure the road between "referral arrived" and "patient scheduled": which channels referrals land in, how fast someone reaches the patient, how many attempts run before giving up, and whether the referring office ever hears what happened. Then we fix the weakest step.
- Scored 0–100 with a written report
- Monthly cost of vanished referrals, from your own numbers
- $500 first fix: the loop-close running, before/after timestamps
- Fixes scoped from measurements — from $2,500
Where Sent Patients Vanish
Where Referrals Vanish
The fax pile, the unowned portal, the one-call attempt, and the loop that never closes back to the referrer.
The Math
Referrals × vanish rate × schedule rate × referral value — with the schedule rate HIGH, because these patients already said yes.
The First Fix
$500: your intake baselined with tracked referrals, the ledger and referrer loop-close built and running, before/after in writing — inside a week.
Two Customers Per Referral — and Both Are Watching
Every referral carries a patient AND a referring office deciding where the next patient goes. In a live specialty practice we measure, a third of staff-entered inquiries never got a follow-up record created — the same silent mechanism that swallows referrals.
The measured wait data is blunt: inquiries handled fast reached scheduling at 29.7% vs 10.9% for ones that aged. A referred patient reached same-day almost always schedules. A referral that sits a week is a coin toss — and the referrer notices.
The Proof Behind the Numbers
Measured findings come from a live outpatient specialty practice we work with, anonymized. Its numbers, not industry averages — the point of measuring is that yours will differ.
Answers to the questions owners ask
What Do We Do When a Referral Arrives With Half the Information Missing?
What do we do when a referral arrives with half the information missing? Learn the exact protocol to contact patients, protect the referral relationship, and prevent vanished referrals.
Should We Contact the Referred Patient or Referring Office First?
Should we contact the referred patient or the referring office first? Contact the patient first, then loop-close to the sender. Here's why.
What is a customer referral worth, and how do I calculate my referral rate?
Customer referrals meaning: the rate patients arrive via another provider's recommendation. Learn the formula, calculate your rate, and measure what each is worth.
How does word-of-mouth marketing actually work for a local business?
Word-of-mouth marketing works when people repeat your name. Here's the five-point checklist that makes it happen for local appointment-based businesses.
How do you ask for referrals without sounding needy?
How do you ask for referrals? Name the patient who benefited, state what happened, and ask for the next one. Word-for-word scripts included.
How do I ask for referrals on LinkedIn?
How to ask for referrals on LinkedIn: send a direct message naming the service you want referred, why you're asking them, and what happens next.
What is a referral program, and what should a small business's look like?
What is a referral program for small business? A one-page offer, rules, and thank-you that turns customers into a named source of new appointments.
How Do We Find Out How Many Referrals We're Losing?
Track vanishing referrals by building a ledger of every sent patient, measuring contact speed, and comparing scheduled versus received. Here's the method.
Do We Need a Dedicated Referral Coordinator? [2026 Guide]
Do we need a dedicated referral coordinator? Learn what they do, how to decide if you need one, and when to hire based on referral volume and tracking gaps.
How Fast Should We Contact a Patient After Their Referral Arrives?
Same-day contact — because the referral conversation stays live for about 48 hours. Direct answer, definitions, and measured findings inside.