Cleared a massive referral backlog in just 60 days Copy test

Introduction

Hays Medical Center is a regional hospital in central Kansas, serving thousands of patients across a wide geographic area. As one of the few full-service hospitals in its region, Hays provides emergency care, surgical specialties, and a wide range of outpatient services. Its mission has always been simple: make quality healthcare accessible to the communities that depend on it.

But like many hospitals across the country, Hays found itself struggling under the weight of outdated referral workflows. Physicians sent patient referrals by fax, email, or scanned PDFs. Staff triaged each one by hand, reviewing documents, keying in patient data, and routing referrals to the appropriate specialty clinic. This process was time-consuming, frustrating, and ultimately unsustainable for the hospital’s patient access team.

Introduction

Hays Medical Center is a regional hospital in central Kansas, serving thousands of patients across a wide geographic area. As one of the few full-service hospitals in its region, Hays provides emergency care, surgical specialties, and a wide range of outpatient services. Its mission has always been simple: make quality healthcare accessible to the communities that depend on it.

But like many hospitals across the country, Hays found itself struggling under the weight of outdated referral workflows. Physicians sent patient referrals by fax, email, or scanned PDFs. Staff triaged each one by hand, reviewing documents, keying in patient data, and routing referrals to the appropriate specialty clinic. This process was time-consuming, frustrating, and ultimately unsustainable for the hospital’s patient access team.

Introduction

Hays Medical Center is a regional hospital in central Kansas, serving thousands of patients across a wide geographic area. As one of the few full-service hospitals in its region, Hays provides emergency care, surgical specialties, and a wide range of outpatient services. Its mission has always been simple: make quality healthcare accessible to the communities that depend on it.

But like many hospitals across the country, Hays found itself struggling under the weight of outdated referral workflows. Physicians sent patient referrals by fax, email, or scanned PDFs. Staff triaged each one by hand, reviewing documents, keying in patient data, and routing referrals to the appropriate specialty clinic. This process was time-consuming, frustrating, and ultimately unsustainable for the hospital’s patient access team.

The Challenge

The referral intake team at Hays was spending 10–15 minutes per referral just to read, interpret, and enter the information into their EMR. With hundreds of referrals arriving each week, backlogs grew quickly.

The ripple effects were significant:

A backlog of hundreds of referrals meant patients were waiting longer for appointments.
In some cases, it took up to 10 days before a patient could be scheduled.
Staff were overwhelmed with clerical work, leaving less time to focus on patient interactions and coordination.

The leadership team at Hays knew the stakes were high. In healthcare, every day of delay can mean delayed diagnoses, slower recovery, or worse patient outcomes. For patients already navigating complex care journeys, referral bottlenecks were creating stress and frustration. For staff, the constant backlog made morale sink lower each week.

The challenge wasn’t just operational — it was human. Hays needed a way to process referrals faster without burning out its already stretched teams.

The Challenge

The referral intake team at Hays was spending 10–15 minutes per referral just to read, interpret, and enter the information into their EMR. With hundreds of referrals arriving each week, backlogs grew quickly.

The ripple effects were significant:

A backlog of hundreds of referrals meant patients were waiting longer for appointments.
In some cases, it took up to 10 days before a patient could be scheduled.
Staff were overwhelmed with clerical work, leaving less time to focus on patient interactions and coordination.

The leadership team at Hays knew the stakes were high. In healthcare, every day of delay can mean delayed diagnoses, slower recovery, or worse patient outcomes. For patients already navigating complex care journeys, referral bottlenecks were creating stress and frustration. For staff, the constant backlog made morale sink lower each week.

The challenge wasn’t just operational — it was human. Hays needed a way to process referrals faster without burning out its already stretched teams.

The Challenge

The referral intake team at Hays was spending 10–15 minutes per referral just to read, interpret, and enter the information into their EMR. With hundreds of referrals arriving each week, backlogs grew quickly.

The ripple effects were significant:

A backlog of hundreds of referrals meant patients were waiting longer for appointments.
In some cases, it took up to 10 days before a patient could be scheduled.
Staff were overwhelmed with clerical work, leaving less time to focus on patient interactions and coordination.

The leadership team at Hays knew the stakes were high. In healthcare, every day of delay can mean delayed diagnoses, slower recovery, or worse patient outcomes. For patients already navigating complex care journeys, referral bottlenecks were creating stress and frustration. For staff, the constant backlog made morale sink lower each week.

The challenge wasn’t just operational — it was human. Hays needed a way to process referrals faster without burning out its already stretched teams.