Top Strategies to Grow Your Hospice Referrals

As hospice leaders strive to increase admissions, they must employ various strategies to attract a steady stream of hospice referrals. In a competitive market, hospice executives continuously seek innovative strategies to expand their reach. As demand for end-of-life care continues to rise, hospice providers must take a proactive approach to garnering referrals. In this article, we outline some top strategies for growth.

Develop Strong Provider Relationships

Physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers can all serve as consistent referral sources. Building strong connections with community physicians and hospital discharge planners, making sure they are aware of hospice services, helps them to route new referrals to your hospice. Making sure the people who treat hospice eligible patients know about your hospice’s offerings, such as disease-specific programs, helps them identify patients who could benefit.

Presenting information in a way that considers the referring provider’s perspective may be helpful. Hospital leaders benefit from hospice services in terms of reduced ALOS and readmissions. Physicians often have questions about how their role in the patient’s care may change after admission to hospice. Conversations that seek to understand and address the unique perspectives of different types of referring providers are more likely to generate referrals.

In addition to providing education about the hospice benefit, hospice programs can also engage with healthcare professionals through regular communication and follow up. Keeping healthcare providers informed about the outcomes of their referrals and seeking feedback on the service provided can nurture positive relationships and encourage future referrals. By consistently demonstrating a commitment to quality care, open communication, and collaboration, a hospice can position itself as a trusted partner for end-of-life care.

Ensure an Efficient Admission Process

An efficient admissions process is essential for growing referrals, as it plays a critical role in meeting the needs of patients and families in a timely and compassionate manner. A streamlined admission process can help hospice agencies quickly assess and admit eligible patients, ensuring that they receive the appropriate care and support when needed. By efficiently managing referrals, conducting thorough assessments, and coordinating smooth care transitions, a hospice can make a good first impression, demonstrating its commitment to providing high-quality end-of-life care.

Educate the Community.

Educating the community about hospice care is another strategy to generate referrals. By raising awareness about the benefits of hospice services, community members can make more informed decisions about end-of-life care options. Hosting informational sessions, workshops, or community events can provide valuable information about the role of hospice in supporting patients with life-limiting illnesses, managing symptoms, and enhancing quality of life during the end-of-life journey. Educating the community can promote a positive perception of hospice services.

Offer Continuing Education for Healthcare Professionals.

Offering continuing education opportunities for healthcare professionals can serve as a valuable strategy to increase hospice referrals. By providing educational seminars, webinars, workshops, or in-service trainings on topics related to end-of-life care and hospice services, hospice programs can help healthcare professionals stay informed about the latest developments in the field while enhancing their knowledge and skills in providing quality care to patients with life-limiting illnesses. Continuing education events provide an opportunity for hospice agencies to highlight their unique offerings, while demonstrating their commitment to delivering compassionate and comprehensive end of life care.

Engage Local Support Groups.

Engaging with local support groups can help to increase hospice referrals by raising awareness regarding end-of-life care options. Support groups provide information and resources to individuals and families facing serious illness. Partnering with local support groups can connect hospice agencies with people who may benefit from hospice services by providing them with information about the benefits of hospice care, eligibility, and available resources. Partnering with support groups allows hospices to reach a target audience of individuals who are already seeking support and guidance during a difficult time, making them more receptive to learning about hospice as a compassionate and holistic approach to end-of-life care.

Collect and Share Patient and Family Testimonials.

Patient and family testimonials provide powerful firsthand accounts of the positive impact of hospice care on individuals and their families. Testimonials from satisfied patients and families can offer valuable insight into the personalized care provided by a hospice program, as well as the emotional support and comfort received during a difficult time. Sharing testimonials can help to foster credibility and trust.

Identify and Target Optimal Referrals.

When it comes to referrals, both quantity and quality matter. What types of referrals meet eligibility criteria and fit best with the hospice’s overall goals?  A good referral should be hospice-eligible. Hospice appropriateness is not the only consideration—timeliness also matters. A hospice needs to obtain a referral early enough in the end-of-life process to give the agency time to meet the patient’s needs, provide the full scope of benefits hospice has to offer, and to generate enough revenue to cover the costs associated with the admission and care.

Not all referrals are created equal, so it is important to decide which kinds of referrals to target for growth. For example, a referring provider could route their unfunded patients to your hospice, while sending their insured patients to a competitor. Growing this type of referral might not be sustainable for the organization. Even nonprofit hospices need to attract enough profitable admissions to cross-subsidize their unfunded care to be able to carry out their mission over the long term. Hospice leaders therefore must take a thoughtful approach to growth.

Monitor and Analyze Referral Data.

A critical component of increasing hospice referrals and admissions involves regularly analyzing referral data and trends and developing effective action plans. Monitoring and analyzing conversion rates, volume trends by referral source, and diagnosis and length of stay data by referral source can help hospice leaders evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts and allocate resources effectively. The technology found in platforms like Hospice care software can assist with referral tracking, data management, and measurement of other metrics and KPIs as well.

The Takeaway

In the simplest terms, providing outstanding patient care sits at the top of the list of strategies for attracting referrals. Understanding the needs and fears of patients and determining how well your hospice organization is meeting those needs—then making improvements as needed—is also crucial when it comes to increasing referrals. Increasing hospice awareness, facilitating smooth transitions to hospice, and building strong relationships with the providers who treat patients with life-limiting conditions all contribute to referral growth.

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