TN hospital tries new referral-boosting method

Hoping to beef up its existing referral network, Chattanooga, Tn.-based Erlanger Hospital has hired specialized service line managers tasked with capturing referrals from regional hospitals and physicians. Marketing to regional hospitals isn't unique--many of its competitors do the same--but devoting a group of service line managers to the task takes its referral marketing efforts to a new level. 

Erlanger, an academic teaching center affiliated with the University of Tennessee Medical Center, has assigned the managers a 46-hospital region cutting across Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. This region includes many rural hospitals that don't have the resources a tertiary hospital can offer. The service line managers' job is to make sure smaller hospitals know about Erlanger's resources, but don't see Erlanger as stealing patients.

To get more background on this approach:
- read this item in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

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