8 Referral Management Strategies to Drive Growth in Human Services

I’ve spent several years working closely with Netsmart clients as a Client Alignment & Client Development Executive—sitting with intake teams, billing leads and clinical directors to see what actually helps people get quality care faster.  

Now, as Netsmart’s National Strategist, my job is to turn those lessons into simple, repeatable practices our teams and clients can use and implement to scale growth and impact. 
 
That’s why I start with a real-world case like this. 

 

Sandy’s Referral Journey  

Take the example of Sandy. A new mom, Sandy is four weeks postpartum. Her women’s health provider screens for depression and sends an electronic referral to behavioral health specialists with consented history attached. An outreach specialist contacts Sandy within 24 hours, books her first therapy session within a week and her intake prefills meds, the team has a Continuity of Care Document (CCD) and screeners so she doesn’t have to retell her story. Automatic reminders reduce no-show risk and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is captured at intake and on day 30.  

The result: faster access, closed care gaps and a ≥5-point PHQ-9 improvement in the first month. 

I’ve seen versions of Sandy’s journey play out both ways. The difference isn’t luck—it’s design: clear communication, clean data handoffs and workflows that match the referral type and source. 

Behavioral health and integrated care organizations are navigating rapid change as healthcare evolves. Some are expanding into new service lines; others are integrating through M&A; many are entering new markets to meet community needs. Despite different paths, one theme consistently emerges: sustainable growth depends on a strong referral pipeline. 

Referrals are the gateway to access, the first step in building client trust, and the foundation for continuity of care. Without effective referral management, care gaps widen and outcomes fall short. Positioning referral management as a strategic priority creates a stronger foundation for long-term success.  

Below are eight strategies—each one connected to the kind of outcomes Sandy experienced. 

 

1. Build stronger referral relationships 

Every referral is more than a handoff; it’s the beginning of a service relationship. Consistent communication and follow-up determine whether individuals receive timely support and satisfactory outcomes. Strong referral relationships with partners like schools, courts, hospitals and internal programs create an environment for better access and continuity of care. 

Use Case: Establish best practice processes and communication such as referral to first contact within 24 hours, partner acknowledgment within one hour and sharing monthly partner scorecards.  

 

2. Tailor workflows to each source 

Referrals don’t arrive in one standard format. Walk-ins, web forms, hospital discharges or justice system referrals all come with different expectations and their own urgency levels. By designing flexible workflows that match the source, organizations can respond faster and improve client engagement. 

Use Case: Create source-specific playbooks with discrete time-to-first-service targets, e.g., obstetrics/postpartum care, emergency/crisis or justice system referrals. 

 

3. Use referral management as a strategic advantage 

Delayed consumer engagement can often lead to missed opportunities for care. Organizations that prioritize quick triage and outreach improve connection rates and close gaps in care. Instead of viewing referrals as administrative overhead, treat them as a strategic growth driver that expands and strengthens your enterprise. 

Use Case: Track the referral process as a funnel: referral received → initial contact (within X hours) → service scheduled (within Y days) → first service delivered. Identify bottlenecks and allocate resources where clients drop off. 

 

4. Match your approach to referral type 

Not all referrals are created equally. Crisis calls, housing support, youth programs and re-entry services each require different levels of urgency and coordination. Tailoring workflows to reflect service complexity builds trust and ensures clients get the right support at the right time. 

Use Case: Identify priority service pathways (like perinatal mental health) and reserve fast-track slots.  Establish a standard for timely scheduling, such as scheduling within 72 hours.  

 

5. Strengthen internal referral processes 

Growth isn’t only about new clients—it’s also about keeping existing consumers already engaged in connected to care. Internal referrals, such as transitions from residential to outpatient treatment, are essential to retention and long-term outcomes. Coordinated internal processes ensure continuity and client success. 

Use Case: Implement internal e-referrals with prefilled client data; track handoff completion rates above 95% and reduce duplicate entry by 70–90%. 

 

6. Use data as a compass 

Data turns everyday referrals into valuable insights. Tracking metrics like referral volume, turnaround time, conversion rates and source quality highlights where systems work and where they break down. With the right analytics, leaders can identify service gaps, refine workflows and make smarter resource decisions. 

Use Case: At each program or site, monitor time-to-contact, time-to-first service and changes in PHQ-9/GAD-7 at 30- to 60-day intervals. 

 

7. Gain visibility to guide strategy 

Referral visibility doesn’t just improve operations—it fuels long-term planning. By understanding which partners and programs drive the most referrals, leaders can allocate staff, expand programs, and invest in new locations with confidence. Growth becomes intentional, not accidental. 

Use Case: Compare capacity versus demand by zip code and program; add slots where high-quality referrals originate (for instance, the OB clinics in Sandy’s story above.) 

 

8. Automate intake with AI  

Growth brings more referrals—and often more paperwork. Many still arrive as PDFs, scanned documents or faxes. AI-powered LLM technology can transform these into structured data automatically. That means less manual entry, faster triage and more time for staff to focus on client engagement. 

Use Case: Automatically extract referral packets, prefill intake forms and apply form logic to enforce program rules—reducing manual data entry by more than 80% and cutting overall referral-to-intake turnaround time by more than half, while maintaining an exception rate below 5%. 

Applying the Right Referral Strategies 

Growth is never accidental—it’s the result of intentional systems that connect individuals to care quickly and reliably. Referral management sits at the center, shaping access, partner relationships and your ability to scale demand. 

When referrals move like Sandy’s—fast, connected and measurable—care gaps shrink and outcomes improve. By applying the right strategies and leveraging modern tools—interoperability, smart forms/logic, consumer engagement, AI and data-driven insights—referrals shift from bottleneck to growth driver. 

 

About the Author

Rob Warner is a results-driven healthcare technology strategist with deep expertise helping behavioral health and human services organizations align technology with business growth. He partners with both for-profit and non-profit providers to design scalable digital strategies that improve outcomes, enable measurement-based care, and support aggressive expansion. Previously an account executive guiding organizations nationwide through EHR and analytics transformations, Rob now advises growth-focused leaders on leveraging enterprise platforms, AI automation, and digital access tools to enhance operations, strengthen margins, and deliver better client care.