Referral Growth and Patient Conversion Strategy for Healthcare Provider

The Challenge Ahead

Ontario Medical Nutrition Therapy (OMNT), a practice of registered dietitians and diabetic educators, sought to scale its business through clinic and hospital referrals. However, three significant barriers stood in the way:

1. Low Perceived Value of Dietitian Services: Patients were skeptical about paying for nutrition advice they believed they could find online. Convincing them to book a session with a specialist required overcoming apathy, misinformation, and cost sensitivity.
2. Gaps in Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and Insurance Coverage: Unlike physician visits, OHIP does not cover dietitian services. Patients were reluctant to pay out-of-pocket after being referred by OHIP-covered physicians. Insurance coverage was inconsistent across providers like Manulife and Sunlife, further muddying cost expectations.
3. Unreliable Clinic Coordination: As a third-party referral partner, OMNT relied heavily on external clinic admins. These partnerships lacked structure—leading to coordination breakdowns. In one case, a clinic admin went on vacation without notifying OMNT, causing scheduling failures and delayed care.

How I Helped

I partnered closely with the client to unpack the root causes, explore solutions, and implement a multi-pronged approach:

Key actions included:

1. Patient Conversion Strategy: We introduced a 15-minute free consultation, anywhere (onsite or virtual) and anytime, for referred patients to remove the upfront cost and coordination barrier. This allowed patients to sample OMNT’s expertise before committing. To further encourage trial, we launched raffle draws offering discounts on the first full session.
2. Admin Coordination Overhaul: I led the development of a simple but effective SOP framework outlining roles, responsibilities, and communication expectations between OMNT and partner clinics. We established clearer accountability and introduced fallback protocols to prevent miscommunication. This aligned especially well with the physicians and clinics on the goal of providing quality care and timely services to patients.
3. Scalability Planning: Given recurring issues with third-party clinic admins, we scoped a future operating model where OMNT would hire its own admin to oversee external clinic coordination as volume scaled.

Business Impact

• High Referral Conversion: OMNT’s calendar was fully booked for two consecutive months following implementation. The free consults lowered the activation barrier and built trust.
• Improved Admin Reliability: Clear SOPs and communication protocols significantly reduced missed referrals, delays, and coordination issues.
• Foundation for Scalable Growth: With SOPs in place and plans for in-house admin support, OMNT is positioned to scale its referral network with confidence and efficiency.

Testimonies

Shuman is the kind of strategic partner every growing business dreams of having. He brought clarity to complexity, turning what initially felt like an overwhelming set of operational hurdles into a clear, actionable plan. From rethinking our referral process to implementing simple yet powerful SOPs for clinic coordination, his strategic thinking and resourcefulness stood out at every step.

What impressed me most was his ability to balance big-picture thinking with hands-on execution. He didn’t just recommend solutions—he helped us implement them, test them, and refine them. As a result, our calendars were fully booked within weeks, and the admin chaos that used to plague us became a non-issue.

Shuman was there throughout the entire journey—not just as a consultant, but as a thought partner who genuinely cared about our success. His ongoing support and ability to anticipate future needs have given us the confidence to scale with structure. I would work with him again in a heartbeat.

Jennifer (Tsz Ching) AuOwner & Registered Dietitian @ OMNT