How to update referral status
Referral status shows where a referred patient is in your practice’s referral workflow.
Keeping the status updated helps your team know what has happened, what needs attention, and where patients may be dropping off.
Short answer
Open the referral in your Referral Intel portal and update the patient’s status whenever they move to the next step.
Status updates help keep dashboards accurate and may trigger patient or referring-office notifications, depending on your setup.
Why referral status matters
Referral status is one of the most important parts of Referral Intel.
It helps your team understand:
Which patients were referred
Which patients scheduled
Which patients have not responded
Which patients had care or treatment presented
Which patients scheduled recommended care
Which patients declined
Which referrals are completed
Accurate status updates help Referral Intel show a clearer picture of your referral pipeline.
When to update referral status
Update referral status whenever something meaningful changes.
Common examples include:
The patient schedules an appointment
The patient does not respond after follow-up
The patient completes the consultation or first visit
Care or treatment is recommended
The patient schedules recommended care or treatment
The patient declines
The patient completes the recommended care or treatment
The goal is to keep the referral record aligned with what is actually happening.
How to update referral status
To update a referral status:
Log in to your Referral Intel portal.
Open the patient referral.
Review the current referral details.
Select the appropriate status.
Enter any required information, such as an appointment date or treatment date.
Save the referral.
Confirm the status updated correctly.
Your team should update the status as soon as possible after the change happens.
Common referral statuses
Your practice may use statuses such as:
Referred
Scheduled
No response
Care or treatment presented
Care or treatment scheduled
Declined
Completed
Your exact status options may vary depending on your practice setup.
Referred
Use Referred when the patient has been referred to your practice but has not yet scheduled.
This is usually the starting status for a new referral.
At this stage, the patient may need follow-up from your team or automated reminders, depending on your workflow.
Scheduled
Use Scheduled when the patient has scheduled their first appointment or consultation.
When moving a patient to Scheduled, enter the scheduled appointment date if prompted.
This helps your team track referral-to-appointment conversion and may notify the referring office that the patient has scheduled.
No response
Use No response when the patient has not scheduled after follow-up attempts.
Depending on your setup, Referral Intel may also move a patient to No Response automatically after a defined follow-up period.
This status helps your team identify patients who were referred but did not move forward.
Care or treatment presented
Use Care or treatment presented when the patient has been seen and your provider has recommended care, treatment, or next steps.
This status helps your team track the next part of the referral funnel: whether recommended care is actually scheduled.
Care or treatment scheduled
Use Care or treatment scheduled when the patient schedules the recommended care or treatment.
When moving a patient to this status, enter the scheduled care or treatment date if prompted.
This may update dashboards and, depending on your setup, notify the referring office that the patient has scheduled recommended care.
Declined
Use Declined when the patient decides not to move forward with recommended care or treatment.
This helps your team distinguish between a patient who has declined and a patient who still needs follow-up.
Completed
Use Completed when the referred care, treatment, or referral workflow has been completed.
This status helps close the loop internally and keeps your referral list cleaner.
What happens after a status is updated?
Status changes may affect several parts of Referral Intel.
Depending on your setup, updating a status may:
Update dashboards
Stop certain patient reminders
Start new follow-up reminders
Notify the referring office
Change the patient’s position in the referral workflow
Improve referral conversion reporting
Help identify patients who need follow-up
Because statuses can affect automations and reporting, they should be updated carefully.
Best practice: update status immediately
Update the referral status as soon as the change happens.
For example, when a patient schedules, update the referral to Scheduled right away.
This helps prevent unnecessary reminders and keeps the referring office communication accurate.
Best practice: train the team on status definitions
Everyone using Referral Intel should understand what each status means.
If different team members use statuses differently, dashboard data may become less useful.
A clear internal workflow helps keep referral tracking consistent.
Best practice: review status accuracy regularly
Your team should periodically review referrals to make sure statuses are current.
This is especially helpful for:
Patients still marked as Referred
Patients who scheduled but were not updated
Patients who have not responded
Patients with care presented but not scheduled
Older referrals that may need to be closed or updated
Common mistake: leaving scheduled patients marked as Referred
If a patient schedules but the referral stays marked as Referred, the system may treat that patient as unscheduled.
This can affect dashboards and may cause unnecessary follow-up reminders.
Always update the status when the patient schedules.
Common mistake: using Declined too early
Do not mark a patient as Declined just because they have not scheduled yet.
Use Declined when the patient clearly says they do not want to move forward.
If the patient has not responded or is still deciding, use the appropriate status based on your practice workflow.
Common mistake: forgetting required dates
Some status changes may require a date, such as an appointment date or treatment date.
If a date is required, enter it before saving.
Dates help Referral Intel track timing and may be used in notifications or dashboards.
Related articles
What each referral status means
How to view a new referral
How to manually add a referral
How patient follow-up automations work
How referring-office notifications work