How One Health System Used Doctivity to Identify a Service Gap and Generate Millions in New Revenue
When health systems struggle to understand what referring providers truly need, growth slows, and patients leave the market. Revenue opportunities go unnoticed. That’s what was happening inside a not-for-profit health system with six hospitals and more than 70 medical practices.
Referring providers kept voicing concerns about their patients’ need for rheumatology services, but none were available locally. As a result, patients were leaving the market to receive the care they needed.
With the help of Doctivity, the not-for-profit health system identified a need for a new specialty service and unlocked strong revenue opportunities. Doctivity's PRM solution was central to the project, providing actionable insights through documentation of service line gaps and executive reporting capabilities.
Here’s a look at the challenge, Doctivity’s solution, and the results the client achieved.
The Challenge: A Missing Service Line with High Community Need
Providing rheumatology services is not a challenge unique to this health system. There is a growing demand for rheumatology providers, with demand predicted to outpace supply by 100% by 2030.
However, the client system was actively trying to resolve this problem in its market. The physician liaison team repeatedly heard from referring providers that the absence of rheumatology services was harming patient care and forcing referrals elsewhere.
Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to build a compelling case for leadership without formal documentation, quantitative data, or organized feedback patterns.
They needed a way to:
Capture and quantify referral source requests
Demonstrate the financial impact of a missing specialty
Provide executive-ready reports to justify service line development
Doctivity’s PRM provided exactly that.
Using Doctivity to Build the Business Case
The liaison team configured Doctivity’s PRM to document conversations and capture service requests. Our platform also generates highly customizable activity reports. The liaison team tailored the platform to align with their internal processes, adding customer-specific fields and workflows.
This new structure allowed the team to:
Track rheumatology requests consistently from referring providers
Highlight the gap in specialty coverage using real-time reporting
Demonstrate the revenue potential associated with introducing rheumatology
Improve provider satisfaction by listening and responding to community needs
The team brought the issue to executive leadership and was equipped with the data it needed to build a compelling case. The evidence was clear. Demand far exceeded capacity, because capacity was zero.
The Solution: Recruiting Two New Rheumatologists
The health system was able to justify and recruit two new rheumatologists, thanks to Doctivity reporting. The impact was immediate. Within just three months of onboarding, the newly hired providers:
Booked out their schedules for six weeks out
Formed strong referral partnerships with local providers
Advocated for continued specialty growth
Generated substantial new revenue
These changes led to significant gains for the health system and significantly improved the patient’s experience.
Understanding the Revenue Impact
Adding rheumatology was a significant financial opportunity that the not-for-profit system seized with the help of Doctivity. Doctivity’s insights enabled leadership to project the potential return confidently:
$600,000 in direct new revenue per provider
More than $2 million per provider in downstream revenue
With two rheumatologists, the health system unlocked $1.2 million in direct annual revenue and $4+ million in downstream revenue. Since the referral relationships were already strong, the service line ramped up quickly without sacrificing sustainability.
Strengthening Referring Provider Relationships
One of the most valuable outcomes was relational. By acting on documented feedback, the health system improved:
Perception among referring providers
Competitive positioning in the market
Trust that the organization listens and responds
Adding rheumatology signaled to the community that the health system was committed to meeting patient needs.
A Clear Example of How PRM Drives Strategy
The results speak for themselves. Doctivity’s PRM is more than a tracking tool. It’s a strategic asset. By capturing detailed provider insights and surfacing trends in real time, health systems can proactively identify revenue opportunities, prevent patient leakage, and inform service line planning with confidence.
Ready to identify service line gaps and strengthen provider relationships? Want a tool that can generate new revenue? Learn how Doctivity Health can help you grow smarter. Request a live demo.
