Managing referral sources effectively ensures clear and insightful data in your Practice Management System (PMS) and Practice by Numbers (PbN). Instead of manually adding each referring patient as a separate referral source, enter their name into the PMS. The system will recognize it as an internal referral, eliminating duplicate entries and preventing an overwhelming number of referral categories in reports.
Over time, as PbN syncs with your PMS, your Patient Flow dashboard may display a long list of individual patient names as referral sources. To keep this data organized and easier to analyze, you can now consolidate referral sources within PbN.
Steps to Consolidate Referral Sources
Access the Referral Sources Page
Navigate to Settings > Referral Sources in Practice by Numbers.
Here, you’ll see a list of referral sources, including individual patient names.
Consolidate Individual Patient Names
Instead of listing every patient separately, group them into an “Internal” category for easier tracking.
This does not remove referral details but organizes them for better visualization and analysis.
Similarly, referring doctors and specialty clinics can be grouped under a "Doctor and Clinic Referrals" category.
Assign Names to Categories
Locate the category where you want to group referral sources.
Click the button next to the pencil icon beside each name.
A drop-down menu will appear with all unmapped referral sources.
Select the names you want to categorize under "Internal" or any other relevant category.
Create New Categories if Needed
If an appropriate category doesn’t exist, click “Add Referral Source” at the top of the screen.
You can create categories like “Doctors and Clinics” to group referrals from specialists or external providers.
Optimize the Drop-Down Menu
The drop-down will only display uncategorized referral sources.
This prevents unnecessary scrolling and ensures a streamlined selection process.
By consolidating referral sources, you can maintain cleaner reports, improved analytics, and better insight into patient referral trends—all without losing essential details.