How to handle incoming fax referrals without losing patients
The agent reads each incoming referral fax, preps the patient record, checks coverage, offers the patient times and lets the referring office know.
- Reach it by
- Phone
- Text
- Who can use it
- Your front desk, referral coordinator and patients
- Works in
- A HIPAA-compliant fax service · An eligibility service on your practice's account, such as Stedi or pVerify · Phone and text · Email
The problem
Referrals still come in by fax, a dozen pages at a time. Someone has to read each one, type the patient into your system, check their coverage and call to schedule.
When the fax sits in a tray for a week, the patient books somewhere else. The referring office never hears back, and next time they send the patient to another practice.
What your agent does
- A referral fax comes inOrder, notes, demographics and insurance card
- Your agent reads the referralPulls out the patient, reason, urgency and payer
- Patient record preppedReady for your front desk to add in one step
- Checks coverageActive plan, network status and whether an authorization is needed, on your eligibility account
- Offers the patient timesBy call or text, from the open slots you share
- Tells the referring officeAppointment date, or why it couldn't be booked
What you get
- Every referral entered the day it arrives
- Patients contacted while they're still waiting to hear
- Referring offices told the outcome every time
- A list of referrals that couldn't be booked, and why
Who approves what
Your front desk reviews each new patient record and adds it to your system. Urgent referrals go to a staff member right away. Clinicians decide anything about triage or whether the referral is appropriate.
Common questions
- Can it read handwritten or poor-quality faxes?
- It reads most typed and clear handwritten pages. When something is unreadable or missing, such as a date of birth or the reason for referral, it asks your staff or the referring office instead of guessing.
- What if the patient doesn't answer?
- It tries again on the schedule you set, by phone and text. After the last try, it lets the referring office know and puts the referral on a list for your staff.
More for medical & dental practices
Prior authorizations
The agent fills the payer's form from the clinical notes, faxes it, tracks every reply and chases denials so procedures don't slip.
Eligibility checks before every visit
The day before each visit, the agent checks coverage and copays, and flags problems while there's still time to call the patient.
What job would you hand to an agent?
Book a free 15-minute call. Tell us the job that eats your week and we'll tell you how an agent would handle it and what it would cost.