Increase Home Health Referrals: The Modern Strategy That Works Without Begging for Business

To increase home health referrals, agencies must build consistent visibility, strengthen provider relationships, and demonstrate reliability through outcomes and communication. Relying on one-time visits or casual outreach no longer works. This article outlines the modern referral strategies that help home health agencies earn trust and become the preferred partner for hospitals, physicians, and discharge planners.

So if you're wondering how to increase home health referrals without begging hospitals or chasing discharge planners, this article is for you.

Why Traditional Referral Strategies Are Failing

Referral marketing used to be about “who you know.” Now, it’s about “who sees you first.”

The landscape has shifted:

• Skilled nursing facilities are overloaded and overwhelmed

• Hospital systems are locked into preferred provider networks

• Referral partners are inundated with agencies saying the same thing

To stand out, you need more than a brochure and a handshake. You need a brand that carries weight before you even walk in the door.

Start with Local Visibility

Referrals often begin with a search, not a conversation. If you're not showing up where your patients or partners are looking, you're invisible.

Your visibility checklist:

• Google Business Profile must be optimized with services like “post-acute care” and “skilled nursing discharge”

• Web pages dedicated to referral partnerships and hospital liaisons

• Positive online reviews that speak to outcomes (e.g., reduced readmissions, smooth transitions)

Remember: decision-makers Google you before they trust you.

Educate, Don’t Pitch

Most referral sources don’t want to be sold to — they want solutions.

Create content and leave-behinds that:

• Educate discharge planners on safe and efficient protocols

• Outline your agency’s specialty programs (e.g., wound care, CHF monitoring)

• Share case studies showing your ability to reduce hospital readmissions

This positions you as a partner, not just another provider.

Be Present Without Being a Pest

Consistent, valuable presence wins the referral game.

Here’s how:

• Host quarterly lunch & learns or CEU events

• Drop off newsletters that provide clinical value, not fluff

• Send handwritten thank-you notes after each successful referral

• Follow up with patient outcome updates (HIPAA-compliant, of course)

Top-of-mind beats top-of-stack every time.

Track and Reward Referral Activity

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Track:

• Referral source volume by partner

• Average referral-to-start rate

• Time between referral and intake

• Referral source satisfaction (ask them!)

If appropriate, implement ethical recognition systems (like appreciation events or spotlight features).

The Smarter Way to Drive Referrals

Relying on referrals doesn’t mean chasing them. It means building an engine that makes your agency the obvious choice.

That’s exactly what The Agency Accelerator helps you do.We combine brand positioning, local visibility, digital content, and in-person strategy into one system that makes your agency:

• Discoverable online

• Desirable to refer to

• Dependable at scale

You won't just get more referrals — you'll become the agency partners prefer to send clients to.

📍 Referral networks are becoming more exclusive. If you're not proactively positioning your agency, you're losing ground.

👉 Apply now to Join The Agency Accelerator and claim your place as the go-to referral partner in your market.

You don’t need more meetings. You need more momentum. It’s time to increase home health referrals — the modern way.