[Encore] The $400M referral problem (and steps to fixing it)

Radio Advisory

(This episode originally aired on October 1, 2024.)

In times of uncertainty, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by what’s out of your control. That’s why over the next few weeks we’re revisiting three powerful conversations that remind us where to focus: on operational excellence, on what is within your control, and on the urgency to act now. Whether you're navigating workforce challenges, financial pressures, or strategic pivots, these episodes offer practical insights to help you retrench, refocus, and lead with clarity.

In the past, we’ve told our listeners that the number one area of focus for health system growth is operational excellence, and a major part of that is capturing all of the revenue on the table from your medical group. Healthcare organizations have spent the last decade buying up medical groups and physicians, in part because of the “promise” of downstream referrals. It is a long-held belief that physician employment leads to higher referral integrity. But according to an Advisory Board data analysis, that doesn’t hold true - just 55% of total referral revenue attributed to employed PCPs is realized in-network.

This week, host Rachel (Rae) Woods invites Advisory Board physician experts Eliza Dailey and Colleen Wagner to unpack where referral leakage actually happens and share the real (and relatively easy) steps organizations can take to reduce referral leakage.

We’re here to help:

• Tools to reduce referral leakage in the medical group
• Are employed PCPs more likely to refer within their health systems?
• Ep. 221: How will health system growth look different in 2025 and beyond?
• Medical group integration
• 3 shifts impacting medical groups: 2024 update on the physician landscap

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