Outbound referral coordinationSend the referral. Know what happened next.
Linear Health matches each outbound referral to a specialist, verifies eligibility and network status, sends it complete, confirms the patient was seen and writes the consult note back into your chart.
OrderedThe order is ingested
Illustrative platform data. Northgate Outpatient Center, its patients and its payers are fictional.
- Up to 80%
- of coordination work automated
- 4 weeks
- to your first live workflow
- 4 EHRs
- with established integrations
- From $2,000
- a month, flat fee per workflow
4 established EHR integrations
The black hole
A sent referral still needs follow-through.
Outbound referral coordination is the work of getting a patient from a referral order to a completed specialist visit, with the consult note back in the chart. It covers matching a specialist, verifying coverage, sending the referral, confirming the visit and retrieving the note. Without it there is no confirmation the patient was seen and no automatic return of the note.
45 to 90 minutes
of coordinator time per manual referral.
Linear Health analysis.
Match
Your preference first. Then the best in-network option.
Matching honors the patient's and provider's chosen specialist. When no preference is set, Linear Health searches for the best in-network, soonest-available specialist. You can also keep the rest of the automation and opt out of booking.
Mateo Garcia
Matching SpecialistSpecialist ConfirmedDr. Adrienne Ashford
Harbor City Cardiology
- Specialty
- Cardiology
- Distance
- 6 mi
- Next available
- 9 days
- Fax
- (937) 555-0214
Ranked first of 4 candidates
Network first, then soonest.
Candidates are ranked by network status and next availability, and a coordinator can pin a specific provider from the shared directory.
Verify before you book.
Eligibility, in-network status and any required authorization are confirmed before an appointment is scheduled.
A directory your whole team shares.
Organizations, providers, specialties and payer networks are kept in one place and used for every match.
Close every loop you open.
Every proposal shows your return against your own numbers. We build to 3x or better.
Send and track
Sent complete, then followed to the visit.
The referral goes out through the right channel, structured and complete. Linear Health follows it to the visit and confirms the patient was actually seen, so the answer is on the screen and not a mystery until the next appointment.
Outbound referrals
Mateo Garcia
Cardiology · Harbor City Cardiology
- Order IngestedNov 9, 10:12 AM
- Pending Clinical NoteNov 9, 10:12 AM
- ValidatingNov 9, 10:13 AM
- Matching SpecialistNov 9, 10:13 AM
- Specialist ConfirmedNov 9, 10:14 AM
- Patient NotifiedNov 9, 10:21 AM
- Awaiting AppointmentNov 9, 10:21 AM
- Appointment ScheduledNov 10, 3:40 PM
- Loop ClosedUp next
- Time in stage
- 1 day
- SLA
- On time
Every referral has a stage.
From order ingested to loop closed, each referral shows where it is and how long it has been there.
The chart goes with it.
The referral order, clinical note and imaging report travel with the referral.
A clock on every stage.
Referrals that sit too long are marked at risk, then overdue, before anyone has to go looking.
Close the loop
The consult note comes back without a phone call.
The consult note is pursued and captured automatically, and the result lands in the right place in your chart. Coordinators work only the exceptions.
Mateo Garcia
Appointment ScheduledLoop ClosedSpecialist visit completed at Harbor City Cardiology.
Consult note reminder faxed to the specialist (day 3).
Second consult note reminder faxed (day 7).
Consult note received and filed to the chart. Loop closed.
Chased until it is filed.
Reminders go to the specialist until the note arrives, and the referral closes when it is in the chart.
Exceptions arrive with their history.
An escalated referral shows what automation already tried, so a coordinator starts from the answer.
Loops you can count.
See how many consult notes are received, pending or overdue across every referral you have sent.
Illustrative platform data. Northgate Outpatient Center, its patients and its payers are fictional.
In practice
Five disconnected tools replaced by one.
Linear Health completely transformed how we operate. They replaced five disconnected tools we were using to manage referrals, scheduling, and patient outreach.
Customer outcomes, Texas Sleep Medicine
- 37% to ~0%
- Missed-call rate
- 5 to 1
- Tools consolidated
- 4 weeks
- First workflow live
Aunt Martha's Health & Wellness runs referral coordination, care gap closure and voice AI with Linear Health across its network, integrated with athenahealth. Across all customers, Linear Health coordinates tens of thousands of referrals per month.
Getting started
Live in four weeks, on the EHR you already use.
Go-live
4 weeks
First workflow live in 4 weeks.
Pricing
From $2,000
From $2,000 a month. Flat monthly fee per workflow, sized to your volume. You pay nothing monthly until the workflow is live and processing real work.
Integrations
4 EHRs
athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen and Greenway Health are established integrations. Linear runs on top of your existing EHR rather than replacing it.
Security
HIPAA
HIPAA compliant, SOC 2 Type 2 audited, BAA available.
Questions
Outbound referral coordination, answered.
What is outbound referral coordination?
Outbound referral coordination is the work of getting a patient from a referral order to a completed specialist visit, with the consult note back in the referring provider's chart. It covers specialist matching, coverage verification, sending the referral, confirming the visit and retrieving the note.
How do I know if a patient actually saw the specialist?
Linear tracks every outbound referral through to the visit and confirms whether the patient was seen, then pursues the consult note and writes the result back into your chart. Instead of finding out at the patient's next appointment, the status is visible as it happens.
How do you close the referral loop and get the consult note back?
Linear follows each referral to completion, retrieves the consult note from the receiving specialist, and returns the result to the correct location in your EHR, replacing the manual routine of calling and asking someone to fax it.
Does Linear choose the specialist, or can our providers and patients decide?
Preference comes first. Linear honors the patient's and provider's chosen specialist, and only searches for the best in-network, soonest-available alternative if that choice isn't workable. You can also opt out of letting Linear book appointments and keep the rest of the automation.
Do you verify insurance eligibility and network status before booking?
Yes. Eligibility, in-network status, and any required authorization are checked before an appointment is scheduled.
Which EHRs does Linear Health integrate with?
Linear runs on top of your existing EHR rather than replacing it. athenahealth, NextGen, eClinicalWorks, and Greenway Health are established integrations, connected through standard health-data interfaces, and booked appointments and status updates are written back into your chart.
Is this lead generation or referral marketing?
No. Linear does not generate referrals, do marketing, or act as a referral broker. We coordinate the referrals your providers already send out to specialists.
What stays with our coordinators?
Up to 80% of coordination work automated. Your team stays in the loop on the other 20%.
How long does implementation take, and what does it cost?
First workflow live in 4 weeks. From $2,000 a month. Flat monthly fee per workflow, sized to your volume. You pay nothing monthly until the workflow is live and processing real work.