Challenge
Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital observed a decline in referrals to their specialty service lines from external providers. While aware of patient perceptions, hospital leadership sought to understand the factors influencing provider referral decisions within the competitive Puget Sound Region. The goal was to identify opportunities to improve the referral experience and strengthen relationships with referring physicians.
Approach
To address Mary Bridge Children's Hospital's referral challenges, Cast & Hue’s Jobs-to-be-Done researchers developed a strategy to better understand the behaviors and decision-making factors of key audiences, including referring pediatricians, family doctors, OBGYN’s, psychiatrists, and specialists within the health system.
Cast & Hue developed a discussion guide for in-depth interviews that focused on four key areas: patient-led drivers, provider motivations (informed by the Steven Reiss Basic Needs Model), context for the referral process, and competitive landscape. Mary Bridge stakeholders participated in selected virtual interviews, ensuring alignment and shared understanding.
Midway through the project, an opportunity arose to expand the scope to include internal MultiCare providers, due to anecdotal evidence of referral leakage within the system. This expansion provided valuable insights into internal referral dynamics, revealing opportunities to improve referral volume both internally and externally.
Outcome
The final presentation delivered actionable insights, prioritizing the four key decision-making drivers that Mary Bridge Children's Hospital could realistically address. We created a high-level map of the referral journey and paired touchpoints with insights from the research, demonstrating how meeting the needs of providers in specific ways would increase new referrals and prevent leakage of existing referrals. Finally, we broke down tactical recommendations in the format of an opportunity tree to prioritize solutions and illustrate their potential impact on long-term outcomes.
Want a detailed walkthrough of this case study or to explore how to boost referral volume for your system? Reach out.
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