How a specialty sleep practice replaced five disconnected tools and recovered $600K+ in annual revenue
Texas Sleep Medicine deployed Linear Health to consolidate fragmented operations, eliminate a 37% missed call rate, reactivate dormant patients, and automate referral-to-revenue workflows end to end.
Texas Sleep Medicine
Sleep Disorders, CPAP/DME
Dr. Ashwin Gowda, Founder & CEO
athenahealth
Fragmented operations leaking patients and revenue
Texas Sleep Medicine is a specialty practice focused on diagnosing and treating sleep disorders, a field where patient volume depends heavily on inbound referrals from primary care and where operational complexity spans clinical scheduling, DME coordination, insurance workflows, and ongoing patient follow-up.
The practice was running on a patchwork of 5+ disconnected systems with a 37% missed call rate -- meaning more than one in three patients calling never reached a live person.
Referral-to-appointment gap
Referrals arrived via fax, web forms, and EHR messages across different systems with no unified tracking. At 25 to 30 minutes per referral, cycle times were slow and unpredictable.
Dormant patient revenue
Patients who hadn't returned for CPAP compliance checks, retitration studies, or annual evaluations represented untapped recoverable revenue with no systematic re-engagement.
DME complexity
CPAP machines, masks, supplies, and compliance tracking created a parallel workflow intersecting with scheduling, verification, and billing.
37% missed call rate
More than one in three patients calling the practice never reached a live person. The phone infrastructure had no call queue and no overflow handling.
Unified automation platform
Replaced five disconnected tools with a single system integrated with athenahealth.
Referral Intake & Consolidation
All referral channels (fax, web forms, EHR messages, and phone) now feed into a single automated pipeline. Linear's AI extracts patient demographics, insurance information, referring provider details, and clinical indications. The system creates or matches patient records in athenahealth, attaches referral documents, and verifies insurance eligibility in real-time.
Automated Patient Outreach & Scheduling
Patients are contacted within minutes of referral receipt via SMS, email, and voice AI. The system handles scheduling conversations end to end, matching patients to available appointment slots based on provider availability, location, and insurance -- booking directly into athenahealth.
Patient Reactivation
Linear Health identifies dormant patients directly from athenahealth records: patients overdue for follow-up visits, CPAP compliance checks, or annual evaluations. Hundreds of dormant patients have been re-engaged and rescheduled since deployment.
Voice AI Contact Center
The most transformative change: AI-powered voice handles inbound calls across new patient scheduling, CPAP/DME questions, rescheduling, billing inquiries, and after-hours coverage. Every call is answered regardless of time.
DME Coordination & Billing Automation
DME workflows (CPAP orders, supply reorders, compliance tracking, and insurance authorization) are managed through the same platform. Charge entry, eligibility verification, and billing follow-up tasks are automated.
Measurable impact
Operational consolidation and revenue recovery across the practice
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Missed call rate | 37% | ~0% (every call answered) |
| Operational tools | 5+ disconnected systems | 1 unified platform |
| Referral-to-appointment time | Days to weeks | Hours |
| Patient reactivation | Ad hoc / not systematic | Hundreds re-engaged |
| DME coordination | Manual spreadsheets | Automated within platform |
| Billing workflows | Manual | Automated with voice AI |
| Call handling | Call center + voicemail | AI with warm human transfer |
| No-show rate reduction | Baseline | 40% reduction |
| Coordinator workload | Manual across all workflows | 60-80% reduction |
| Referral completion rate | Untracked | 95% |
What the customer says
"Linear Health completely transformed how we operate. They replaced five disconnected tools we were using to manage referrals, scheduling, and patient outreach. Now our entire workflow runs through one platform: referral intake, appointment booking, patient reactivation, front desk voice AI, DME coordination, and billing. It's transformed how we operate."
Dr. Ashwin Gowda
Founder & CEO, Texas Sleep Medicine
"Before Linear Health, I was managing five different systems just to get a patient from referral to appointment. Now I have one screen. Our team went from chasing spreadsheets and voicemails to actually coordinating care. The difference is night and day."
Donna Adam
Director of Operations, Texas Sleep Medicine
Linear Health Platform
Integrated with athenahealth