Question

Topic: Strategy

Medicare Referrals

Posted by Anonymous on 10/12/2009 at 10:56 PM ET 25 Points
I have been asked as the Director of Admissions what I am going to do to increase our medicare referrals and convert them into admissions.
What marketing strategy could be a benefit?
What should be the main focus to get could medicare referrals?
Should one hospital or several be a target?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 10/12/2009 at 11:27 PM Member
    Which country are you in?

    Director of Admissions - for what sort of institution?

    What specialties does your institution have?

    What do you mean by "Should one hospital or several be a target?". Do you have more than one hospital?

    Come back with better particulars and I'm sure someone will be able to help.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 10/13/2009 at 8:34 AM Accepted
    It would be helpful to know the type of facility.

    I assume you are in the US, as Medicare is US.

    With so many facilities turning down Medicare patients you should be in a very sweet spot. My mother in law is having a heck of a time.

    Most facilities have marketing people. Or are you doing this alone?

    Approaching docs is somewhat easy as they are typically located in medical buildings -- few buildings not designed for medical have all the plumbing needed.

    When I've worked with facilities as yours, we cold call these buildings asking for the referrals. We would create relationships with other facilities, faxing daily a list of open beds. No one wants to refer a patient to a facility that will turn them down.

    It takes mutliple contacts, but the facility I worked with went from 70% to 90plus in a very short time.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 10/14/2009 at 9:50 AM Member
    Randall's right. Think of this-- if you land one referring hospital -- and you sit and wait-- would you be effectively working your job, or coasting, waiting and coasting? What is enough? When your facility has a waiting list.
  • Posted on 10/14/2009 at 10:25 AM Author
    We do send out emails and phone the discharge planners at the hospitals daily. However the local hospital has its own SNF facility where the best rehab referrals will go. By law you are required to give 3 snf names for placement. But a direct connection to them it does not happen. The are more HMO's in this day then the traditional medicare. We have a marketing person who is out and about at the other hospitals. Those are level 3 trauma's and those referrals are train wrecks with no ins. We have taken those to help them and in return get good referrals. It just is not happening. People are not doing the elect-surgery due to the economy. We do 7 day a week therapy/wound vacs/trachs. and 7 day a week admissions.
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