Why manual referral tracking scales a practice backward | Misty Sullivan, Care Center Administrator, Proliance Rainier Orthopedic Institute | Ep. 10

Referrals are how an independent specialty practice grows, and right now most of that work still runs on spreadsheets, paper, and someone's memory. This episode looks at what happens when a practice gets serious about the referral process and treats it as a growth driver instead of a cost of doing business. Joe Zboch sits down with Misty Sullivan, care center administrator at Proliance Rainier Orthopedic Institute, to talk through balancing aggressive growth goals with operational excellence. They get into why customer service has to come first, why access to care is part of the growth conversation, and why manual tracking quietly scales a practice backward. Misty also explains the visibility gap that keeps her up at night, the metrics she wishes she could track, and where an operations leader should actually start. The episode is brought to you by Hatch.ㅤ👤 Guest BioMisty Sullivan is care center administrator at Proliance Rainier Orthopedic Institute and the Surgery Center at Rainier, a seven-physician orthopedic private practice in the Pacific Northwest and part of the larger Proliance Surgeons group. She oversees roughly 70 employees across a clinic, MRI, X-ray, a four-room surgery center, and a satellite location. She has spent years improving the referral process inside the broader Proliance organization and has also helped primary care clinics learn to process referrals.ㅤ📌 What We CoverWhy customer service and access to care sit at the front of every growth decision, and why promising referrals you can't see for three months breaks both ㅤHow manual tracking on Excel and paper stops working as a practice grows, and why it costs time, manpower, and money ㅤThe visibility gap leadership often can't see: no single view of how many referrals came in, where they came from, or who worked them ㅤWhy SharePoint and Teams aren't built for processing referrals, including no keyword customization and no way to flag urgency ㅤThe four metrics Misty tracks: referrals received, receipt to first attempt to contact, receipt to schedule, and the reason a patient couldn't be scheduled ㅤHow a process map and training documentation help a lean team onboard, cross-train, and promote from within ㅤWhere to start when getting serious about referral operations: staffing first, then process, then technologyㅤ🔗 Resources MentionedHatch referral databaseQlik (data and reporting)Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft TeamsExcelPuyallup Sumner Chamber of CommerceSWOT analysisContact Misty: [email protected]