Physician referrals play an integral role in a patient’s healthcare journey. The CDC estimates referrals generate 260 million office visits annually to non-primary care providers and account for 56% of new patient visits to non-surgical specialists.
By giving referrals, physicians help their patients coordinate the best level of care, while receiving referrals enables them to build a thriving patient base. As patients demand the convenience of receiving medical care close to home, a physician’s referral strategy must put greater emphasis on its location and real estate.
Understanding physician referral patterns is also a strategic advantage for medical office building owners, who can use this knowledge to optimize a property’s provider composition, boost tenancy and patient visits, and maximize the value of their real estate.
What are physician referral patterns?
A physician referral pattern refers to the path of providers a patient encounters in their healthcare journey.
For example, a primary care physician might refer a patient with knee pain to an orthopedist, who treats the patient and then refers them to a physical therapist. Similarly, the referral pathway for a patient with high blood pressure might involve a general practitioner referring the patient to a cardiologist, then a radiologist, followed by a vascular surgeon, and finally a vascular rehabilitation specialist.
Why should healthcare tenants create referral patterns in the medical office building where they lease space?
Building collaborative relationships with various specialties within the same medical office building can improve healthcare coordination. It can also boost the number of visits to that location, giving physicians greater access to potential patients.
For patients, receiving medical services in one place improves the overall care experience by reducing the time and stress associated with traveling to multiple offices.
What are the benefits of a strong physician referral pattern to medical office building owners?
When physicians see more patients in one location, they are more likely to be committed to staying in the building, leading to longer lease terms, lower turnover, and stable rental income for the owner.
An effective physician referral ecosystem can also enhance a building's visibility and reputation within the healthcare and patient communities, thereby elevating its marketability to medical prospects and increasing its value.
How can medical office building owners optimize physician referral patterns?
One of the most important factors in building a successful physician referral network is understanding which practice groups share the same patient population. For example, a fertility clinic shares patients with OBGYN/Maternal Fetal Medicine, which will refer patients to pediatrics and other pediatric specialties.
Using data-driven prospecting, a real estate professional can help owners identify and analyze patient care pathways, referral patterns, and market demand to target practice groups and physicians who form an integrated healthcare network within their medical office building.
Transwestern applied this analytical approach at 9601 Blackwell Rd in Rockville, Maryland, to source users who could contribute to and benefit from the medical office building’s referral network. Leveraging existing tenants as advocates enhanced the property’s appeal to potential tenants and expedited the leasing process. As a result, occupancy increased from 70% to 94% in 18 months.
Understanding referral sources and patterns helps enhance care coordination at a medical office building. By consolidating a physician referral pattern in one location, owners can optimize their real estate and offer patients and healthcare tenants a convenient, efficient, and value-driven experience.
Senior Vice President Joseph McCormick and Assistant Vice President Michelle Castro lead Transwestern’s Healthcare Advisory Services in the Mid-Atlantic, bringing deep expertise in serving physicians, hospitals, health systems, biotech firms, and medical real estate investors. Their team provides agency leasing, tenant representation, investment strategies, and account management in collaboration with the Transwestern National Healthcare platform.
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RELATED TOPICS:
commercial real estate
healthcare real estate
agency leasing
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