About
Netsmart Referral Management is a purpose-built software solution designed to help healthcare organizations — including post-acute care providers, behavioral health agencies, hospice, home health, skilled nursing, and human services — automate and optimize their entire patient referral workflow. By electronically connecting organizations with their referring sources, the platform eliminates manual, paper-based processes and significantly reduces referral response times, reportedly cutting them in half. As a component of the Netsmart CareFabric platform, the referral management solution integrates seamlessly with EHR and care coordination tools across multiple care settings. It supports centralized referral intake, real-time tracking, and streamlined communication between care teams and referral partners. Key capabilities include automated referral intake, electronic connectivity with referring sources, workflow routing, and population health data capture to improve outcomes. The solution is tailored for complex care environments — from CCBHCs and addiction treatment programs to life plan communities and state veterans homes — making it suitable for both clinical and administrative stakeholders. Netsmart Referral is ideal for healthcare organizations seeking to reduce administrative burden, improve admission rates, strengthen referral source relationships, and maintain compliance in heavily regulated care environments. Its deep vertical focus on post-acute and human services makes it a specialized alternative to general-purpose CRM or workflow tools.
Key Features
- Automated Referral Intake: Eliminates manual, paper-based referral processes by automating intake workflows from submission to acceptance.
- Electronic Referring Source Connectivity: Digitally connects healthcare organizations with their referring partners to enable real-time referral submissions and status updates.
- CareFabric Platform Integration: Natively integrates with Netsmart's broader EHR and care coordination ecosystem across post-acute, behavioral health, and human services settings.
- Population Health Data Capture: Captures referral and patient data to support population health management, reporting, and outcome improvement initiatives.
- Multi-Setting Support: Supports referral management across diverse care environments including hospice, home health, skilled nursing, behavioral health, and human services.
Use Cases
- A post-acute care network uses Netsmart Referral to automate incoming hospital referrals, reducing manual intake work and accelerating bed placement decisions.
- A behavioral health organization connects electronically with community mental health referrers to track referral status in real time and reduce drop-off rates.
- A hospice provider streamlines referral intake from hospitals and physician groups, ensuring faster admission approvals and better compliance documentation.
- A home health agency leverages the platform to manage high referral volumes from multiple sources, routing each case to the appropriate clinical team automatically.
- A CCBHC uses Netsmart Referral to capture referral data for population health reporting and value-based care quality measures.
Pros
- Cuts Referral Response Time: Automates the referral process to reduce response times by up to 50%, improving admission rates and referral source satisfaction.
- Deep Healthcare Vertical Focus: Purpose-built for complex post-acute and human services care environments, offering specialized workflows that generic tools cannot match.
- Integrated Ecosystem: Part of the CareFabric platform, enabling seamless data flow across EHR, billing, and care coordination modules without siloed systems.
Cons
- Enterprise-Only Pricing: Designed for mid-to-large healthcare organizations; pricing and deployment complexity may not be suitable for small independent practices.
- Limited Transparency on Features: Detailed feature documentation and pricing require direct engagement with a sales representative, making self-service evaluation difficult.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Netsmart Referral Management?
Netsmart Referral Management is an enterprise software solution that automates the patient referral intake process, electronically connecting healthcare organizations with their referring sources to streamline workflows and reduce response times.
Which healthcare settings does Netsmart Referral support?
It supports a wide range of settings including post-acute care, home health, hospice, skilled nursing, behavioral health, addiction treatment, human services, life plan communities, and state veterans homes.
How does Netsmart Referral integrate with other systems?
Netsmart Referral is part of the CareFabric platform, which means it integrates natively with Netsmart's EHR, billing, and care coordination tools. It also supports electronic connectivity with external referring sources.
How much does Netsmart Referral cost?
Netsmart Referral is an enterprise solution with custom pricing. Organizations need to contact Netsmart directly for a quote tailored to their size and care setting.
Does Netsmart Referral help with population health management?
Yes. The referral management solution is part of Netsmart's population health management suite and captures data insights that help organizations coordinate services across care settings and improve health outcomes.
