Understanding where your patients are coming from is essential for evaluating marketing performance and referral relationships. The Refer-In Report in CareStack allows practices to track referral sources tied to patient records and measure production generated from those referrals. This report provides valuable visibility into referral trends, allowing practices to identify high-performing marketing channels and referral partners while making more informed business decisions. This guide outlines how referral sources should be entered and how to access the Refer-In Report so your practice can accurately track referral performance.
IMPORTANT
Enter Referral Sources when Creating Patients
For the Refer-In Report to remain accurate, the Referral Source must be entered when creating a new patient profile.
If this information is missing or entered incorrectly, the patient may not appear correctly in the report or may be categorized as Unknown, which can lead to inaccurate reporting.
Best Practice: Always confirm that a referral source has been selected before saving |
Why Referral Source Entry Matters
Without consistent referral source entry, practices may lose visibility into where patients are coming from and which marketing channels are producing results.
Entering referral sources helps practices:
Track existing patients who were referred in
Identify the referral source associated with each patient
Measure production tied to referral partners
Evaluate marketing campaign performance
Identify high-value referring doctors or sources
Maintaining accurate referral data allows practices to measure marketing ROI and make better decisions about where to focus growth efforts.
Step 1: Create a New Patient
Begin by creating a new patient record within CareStack.
- Click the + Patient quick link from the CareStack toolbar.
- This will open the Add New Patient slide-out window.
At this stage, the patient’s demographic and contact information can be entered.
Step 2: Select the Referral Source
Within the patient creation window, locate the Referral Source field.
- Click the Referral Source dropdown.
- Select the appropriate source for how the patient found your practice.
Common Examples Include:
- Referring Doctor
- Google Search
- Practice Website
- Insurance Directory
- Social Media
- Internal Patient Referral
3. Please note a secondary referral source/subcategory can also be selected.
If the appropriate referral source is not available in the dropdown list, it should be created before completing the patient profile to ensure reporting accuracy.
Step 3: Save the Patient Record
After selecting the referral source:
- Complete all required patient information fields.
- Click Save.
Once saved, the referral source becomes tied to the patient’s profile and will populate with the Refer-In Report.
Step 4: Access the Refer-In Report
To review referral performance:
| 1 | Navigate to the System Menu |
| 2 | Select Insights |
| 3 | Open Operational Reports |
| 4 | Scroll down and select Refer-In Report |
The report will display referral data tied to patient activity and production.
How Practices Benefit from the Refer-In Report
The report helps practices analyze key business insights, including:
- Top-performing referral sources
- High-value referring doctors
- Marketing channel effectiveness
- Production generated by referral partners
- Practice growth trends over time
Reviewing this data regularly allows practices to identify where patients are coming from and which referral channels are generating the greatest return.
What the Refer-In Report Shows
The Refer-In Report provides several performance metrics related to referral sources.
| Net Production (Transaction Date) |
Total patient production within the selected date range based on transaction date, including all production adjustments applied within that same range. Formula: Gross Patient Production (TXN) – Patient Production Adjustments (TXN) = Net Patient Production (TXN) |
| Net Collection (Transaction Date) |
Total collections from patient, insurance, and collection agencies, including adjustments and refunds within the selected date range. Formula: Gross Collection (Trans. Date) ± Collection Adjustments – Refunds + Transfers Excludes: Income reduction, special credits, finance charges Includes: Transaction charges, membership credit |
| Gross Production |
Total production generated from patients associated with the selected location, referral source, or sub-category within the date range (based on transaction date). |
| Lifetime Gross Production |
Total production generated from a patient over their lifetime. |
| Lifetime Gross Collection |
Total collections received from a patient over their lifetime. |
| Lifetime Production per Patient |
Average production per patient within the selected referral group. |
| Broken Appointment Count |
|---|
Number of appointments in the selected date range with a status of No Show or Cancelled, compared against total scheduled appointments (excluding blocked appointments). |
| Lifetime Applied Payments |
Total patient and insurance payments applied across the patient’s lifetime. |
| Planned Treatment Amount |
Total value of pending treatment (scheduled and unscheduled) with proposed dates in the selected range. Excludes: Completed, rejected, or referred-out procedures |
Tips / Tools
Create Consistent Referral Source Categories
Using standardized referral source names ensures the report remains clean and easy to analyze.
For example, avoid having multiple versions of the same source such as:
Google
Google Search
Google Ads
Instead, standardize the naming convention to maintain accurate reporting.
Train Staff to Enter Referral Sources
Front office teams should be trained to confirm the referral source when creating new patient profiles. Consistency during patient creation ensures accurate reporting later. Please note this can be made a mandatory field by a service request to support.
Review Referral Performance Regularly
Practices should review the Refer-In Report on a regular basis to evaluate marketing performance and identify referral trends.
The Ideal Referral Tracking Workflow
When practices consistently record referral sources and review referral performance, they gain valuable insight into how patients are finding the practice.
Practices that actively track referral data often experience:
Better marketing ROI visibility
Stronger referral partner relationships
Improved business decision-making
More accurate performance reporting
Greater insight into practice growth trends
Accurate referral tracking helps practices understand which referral channels are driving growth while supporting smarter marketing investments.