Tracing referral patterns at long-term care facilities

As the American population ages, long-term care (LTC) is becoming an increasingly critical component of healthcare. Long-term care providers and companies selling into the LTC market are faced with new opportunities—and new challenges—as demand increases and competition heats up.

One of the core challenges of operating in any market is understanding where the most lucrative opportunities lie. In the world of long-term care, referral volumes are among the most useful performance indicators, and referral pattern analysis applies additional context to transform those indicators into insights.

What is referral pattern analysis

Referral pattern analysis is the process of tracing referral patterns between providers and analyzing factors like referral volume, network status, and related diagnoses and procedures.

Referral pattern analysis is often used by hospitals, health systems, Accountable care organizations, and insurers to track performance, manage cost, and enhance care continuity.

How long-term care providers and vendors use referral pattern analysis

In the long-term care sector, which includes skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, rehab centers, and home health providers, referral pattern analysis is a powerful tool used to drive growth, improve coordination, and enhance strategic decision-making.

Referral pattern analysis helps LTC providers and vendors identify opportunities for growth in a variety of ways.

For LTC providers, understanding referral patterns means identifying which hospitals, physicians, or specialists are sending patients their way, how frequently, and with what types of cases. This insight helps them strengthen relationships with high-value referral sources, spot missed opportunities where potential referrals are going elsewhere, and tailor outreach efforts to build trust and increase admissions. It also enables providers to forecast demand more accurately, ensuring they have the right staffing and resources in place when referral volumes spike. They might also leverage referral insights to target and engage patients directly.

Vendors that serve the LTC market—such as therapy companies, durable medical equipment suppliers, and software platforms—use referral pattern analysis to refine their sales strategies and service delivery.

By mapping how patients move through the care continuum (for example, from hospital to skilled nursing to home health), vendors can position their offerings at the most impactful points in that journey. They can target facilities with strong or growing referral pipelines, better understand the specific needs of their potential customers, and monitor market share or competitor activity.

Using referral pattern analysis strategically

Whether you are a provider or a vendor operating in the LTC world, referral pattern analysis can equip you with the data you need to make smarter decisions, strengthen partnerships, and stay competitive in a highly referral-dependent environment.

To start incorporating referral pattern analysis into your business strategy, you’ll most likely need access to all-payor claims datasets. This data offers a complete, unbiased picture of how patients move through the healthcare system—regardless of their insurance type or provider network. Other benefits include:

• Accurate tracking of patient movement across multiple providers and care settings
• Competitive intelligence
• Better forecasting and resource allocation

In short, an all-payer claims dataset transforms referral analysis from a narrow view into a 360-degree strategy tool, helping organizations grow smarter, reduce leakage, and make data-driven decisions.

Leveraging a good visual analytics tool can also help your team identify market trends in your data faster and easier. Features like interactive maps, charts, and tables demonstrating referral patterns between hospitals and LTC facilities accelerate insight acquisition and simplify the process of communicating those insights with colleagues and stakeholders. With these capabilities, users can segment the data by market, patient volumes, admission rates, and even diagnosis-related group (DRG). Users should also be able to target specific facilities to understand where they refer patients and from whom they receive patients.

For more insights into the long-term care market, read our top tips for marketing to long-term care centers.

Learn more

Want to see firsthand how all-payor claims and visual analytics tools can help you find new opportunities for your business and put referral patterns to work?

With Definitive Healthcare, you can leverage our world class data to uncover high-value growth opportunities, identify ideal contacts for engagement, and shape your outreach strategy with tailored messaging that resonates. Start a free trial with Definitive Healthcare today.