Oh the Terror: Changing the Intake Process

Change. That cruel, unrelenting monster lurking just outside your comfort zone. The mere suggestion of overhauling the intake process is enough to send shivers down the spine of any seasoned home health operator. “Why mess with what’s working?” you might ask. And it’s a fair question. After all, disrupting the lifeblood of your organization—the intake process—feels like asking for chaos.

But here’s the question: How good can you stand it?

The Fear of Change: EMR Edition

If you’ve ever lived through an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) transition, you know the kind of agony we’re talking about. I once worked with a doctor’s office in the San Francisco East Bay whose outgoing voicemail literally warned patients: “We’re still transitioning to a new EMR system. Please bear with us.” Six months later, they were still clawing their way out of operational gridlock. It was the stuff of nightmares.

So yes, we get it—change is terrifying. But sometimes, it’s necessary. Especially when the cracks in your system aren’t just showing—they’re widening.

Who This Post is For

This isn’t for the agencies already cruising with fully integrated systems like Homecare Homebase or Salesforce. If you’ve got a setup humming with seamless EMR integration, congratulations—you’re already ahead of the pack. This post is for those who are still fighting the good fight with spreadsheets, email, chat apps, and basic EMR tools to cobble together their intake processes.

Let’s be real: You can build a pretty solid business with good people and manual processes. But what happens when you’re trying to grow past a single branch or scale beyond 200 census? How do you ensure your intake process doesn’t buckle under the weight of increased referrals?

Our goal here is to walk you through what change looks like—and how to get through it without losing your mind.

The Starting Point: Your Current System

Let’s assume you’re a one-branch agency with a census of 250, processing 150 referrals per week and admitting 20-25 patients. You’re eager to grow, but your intake process currently looks something like this:

1. Referrals come in via e-fax, Allscripts, or Navi.
2. Your intake team updates a spreadsheet with key information:
   
   • Patient Name
   • DOB
   • Referral Date
   • Referring Contact
   • Referring Company
   • Status (e.g., Missing Info, Need Orders, Transfer, Accepted)
   • Notes for intake/scheduling activity

Here’s what that spreadsheet might look like:

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If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. But let’s ask the big question: Is this scalable?

Spreadsheets and manual processes may work now, but as referrals grow, the cracks will start to show. And when you expand to multiple branches? Forget it.

If you want to scale with confidence, it’s time to move beyond spreadsheets.

Step 1: Transitioning to Software

The good news? Transitioning your intake process doesn’t have to feel like an EMR overhaul. With the right software partner, you can smooth the chaos and set yourself up for long-term success.

Here’s what the process looks like:

Set Up Your System

1. Upload Contacts and Companies
   Share your current referral contacts and companies (accounts). This ensures your CRM starts with the data you need to connect referrals to the right sources.
2. Import Referral History
   Add recent or historical referral data—whether it’s the past 3 months, a year, or all-time. This allows your CRM to track referral trends over time, offering valuable insights for future growth.

Step 2: The New Process

Now, let’s look at how the intake process transforms with a CRM in place.

When a Referral Comes In

1. Intake adds the patient and referral details to the CRM.
   
   • Select the referring contact from your pre-loaded list.
   • Mark the stage of the referral (e.g., Accepted, Pending Info).

1. If any information is missing:
   
   • The referring contact’s details are right there in the CRM—no need to dig through documents for phone numbers.
2. Referral details are now centralized:
   
   • Patient info, referral source, and all communication are tied to the record.

What Happens Next?

Once your team gets into the flow of using the CRM, the process feels as natural as using a spreadsheet—but with far more benefits.

• Real-Time Notifications: Marketers are notified as soon as referrals are added, keeping them in the loop.
• Streamlined Communication: Intake and marketing teams can easily collaborate without needing separate systems or extra emails, texts, and calls.
• Data Forever: All referral data is stored securely and tied to accounts for easy analysis.

How Good Can You Stand It?

It’s not about whether you can manage with spreadsheets—it’s about whether you’re ready to take your intake process to the next level. Scaling your agency doesn’t just mean more referrals; it means more complexity, more communication, and more opportunities to drop the ball.

By transitioning to a centralized, software-driven process, you’re not just improving intake—you’re building the foundation for sustainable growth.

So, hang tight. Yes, change can be daunting. But on the other side of that fear lies efficiency, growth, and a better way to serve your patients and referral sources. Let’s get to work.