Patients need a clear route to your service. Right now, there isn't one.

A pathway is how patients get from first symptom to your door. Here is how to design one that works for patients, referrers and you.

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steps: 7; steps
to start: Half a day; to start
scorecard: Free; scorecard

The short answer

A patient pathway is the written route from first symptom to discharge: who can be referred, how, what tests they need first, and who contacts them at each step. Most clinics lose patients in the gaps between referral, first contact and booking, not because demand is missing. Map one real journey, write entry criteria, give referrers one route in and put a named owner and a time limit on every handover.

What good looks like

Where you stand, before and after

Patient pathway

Clear criteria · one referral route
Named contact at every step · times tracked

PathwayReferralsTimes

Illustrative sample, not a real person or result.

7 steps

Do it yourself: step by step

0 of 7 done

Choose your highest-volume or most leaky service. Follow five recent patients from referral letter or web enquiry to discharge using the PMS, emails and phone notes. Write down every step, every wait in days and every handover between people.
Time
Half a day
Typical cost
£0
Who does it
Practice manager with reception lead
Done when: You have a one-page map showing each step, the average wait and where at least one patient was lost or delayed
Sit with the lead consultant for 30 minutes and write who should be referred, red flags that need NHS urgent pathways instead, and what the referrer should send or arrange first (for example recent bloods, imaging report, medication list, insurer authorisation code). Also write who should not be referred.
Time
1 to 2 weeks to get the meeting, 30 minutes to agree
Typical cost
£0
Who does it
Practice manager and lead consultant
Done when: The criteria fit on one side of A4 and the consultant has signed them off
Choose a single front door: one secure email address or e-referral form, one phone number and one web form for self-pay patients. Write a two-line acknowledgement that goes out the same working day with the next step and timescale.
Time
1 week
Typical cost
£0 to £500 for a web form or PMS template (Solvable estimate)
Who does it
Practice manager, website supplier if needed
Done when: Every new referral lands in one inbox or queue and gets an acknowledgement within one working day
For each gap on your map (referral to first contact, contact to booking, booking to diagnostics, results to follow-up, follow-up to treatment) name the role responsible and the maximum time allowed. Build reminder tasks in the PMS.
Time
1 to 2 days
Typical cost
£0
Who does it
Practice manager with reception team
Done when: Each handover on the map has a role and a target in working days, and PMS tasks exist for them
Send the criteria and referral route to local GP practices and referring consultants. Put a short version on the service web page with what to expect and how long it takes. Give insured patients a clear line on getting pre-authorisation from their insurer.
Time
2 to 4 weeks
Typical cost
£0 to £300 for print or postage (Solvable estimate)
Who does it
Practice manager, marketing supplier optional
Done when: The route and criteria are on the website and have been sent to every regular referrer

This problem is Solvable.

Copy this template

Patient pathway map and referral criteria template

Free to copy, adapt and use. No sign-up.

Template

[Service name] patient pathway

Pathway owner: [Name, role] Clinical lead: [Consultant name] Last reviewed: [Date]

1. Who should be referred

Adults aged [18+] with [condition or symptom]
Symptoms present for [X weeks] or not responding to [first-line treatment]
Self-pay or insured (insurer pre-authorisation needed before first appointment for insured patients)

2. Who should not be referred here

Red flag symptoms: [list]. Refer via the NHS urgent suspected cancer or emergency route instead.
Under [age], or conditions outside our scope: [list]

3. What to send with the referral

Referral letter with reason, history and current medication
Recent results: [bloods within 3 months, imaging report]
Insurer name, membership number and authorisation code (if insured)
Patient mobile number and email

4. How to refer

Secure email: [secure referrals address]
Phone: [number], [hours]
Self-pay patients: [web form URL]

5. What happens next (our promises)

Step	Who	Target
Referral acknowledged to referrer and patient	Reception	Same working day
Patient contacted to book	Reception	Within 1 working day
First appointment offered	Reception	Within [5] working days
Diagnostics booked (if needed)	Clinic coordinator	Within [3] working days of consultation
Results reviewed and patient told next step	Consultant / secretary	Within [5] working days of test
Treatment booked or discharged with GP letter	Secretary	Within [10] working days

6. Monthly measures

Measure	This month	Last month	Target
Referrals and enquiries received
% contacted within 1 working day			95%
% booked a first appointment			[set]
Days referral to first appointment (median)			[set]
Days referral to treatment (median)			[set]
Patients lost (no contact or no booking)

7. Acknowledgement text

"Thank you for your referral of [patient]. We received it on [date]. Our team will contact the patient by [date] to offer an appointment with [consultant]. For questions please call [number]."

Avoid these

Common mistakes

Mapping the pathway the clinic thinks it has rather than following real patient records.
Accepting referrals through five routes (consultant email, secretary mobile, web form, fax, phone) so nobody sees the full queue.
Writing entry criteria without the consultant, so they are ignored in clinic.
Acknowledging the referrer but not the patient, who then books elsewhere.
Forgetting insured patients need pre-authorisation, which stalls the first appointment by days.

Free personal check

Done by Paul Robinson, not software

Answer eight quick questions and I'll show you where patients fall out of your pathway

What I need from you

Eight tap answers about one service
The service you want to build a pathway for

What you get

Where your pathway leaks most
The three handovers to tighten first
A simple pathway map outline

Within 2 working days

No sign-in, no sales call. I read every request myself and reply on WhatsApp.

Free tools

Check where you stand

How clear is the route to your service?

You've mapped the patient journey from first symptom
You have written referral criteria
There's one simple way to refer
Every handover has a named owner and a time standard
You track time from referral to treatment

0 of 5 answered

Answer them all to see your score.

Your answers aren't linked to you. We keep anonymous totals to improve these checks.

Your illustrative estimate

£12,500

Solvable estimate. Rounded to the nearest £500. Updates as you type.

Referrals per month

Starting figure 30. Change it to match your practice.

Contact rate

Starting figure 75% (from 75% (Solvable estimate)). Change it to match your practice.

Booking rate

Starting figure 60% (from 60% (Solvable estimate)). Change it to match your practice.

Share of lost referrals recoverable with a pathway owner and one route in

Starting figure 25% (from 25% (Solvable estimate: some referred patients choose the NHS or another clinic whatever you do)). Change it to match your practice.

Initial consultation fee

Starting figure £250 (midpoint of £250 (Default: £250, a typical self-pay initial consultation fee (Solvable estimate). Change it to your own fee.)). Change it to match your practice.

Formula

Annual recoverable value = referrals per month x (1 minus contact rate x booking rate) x share recoverable x initial consultation fee x 12

Variables and defaults

referrals per month: 30
contact rate: 75% (Solvable estimate)
booking rate: 60% (Solvable estimate)
share of lost referrals recoverable with a pathway owner and one route in: 25% (Solvable estimate: some referred patients choose the NHS or another clinic whatever you do)
initial consultation fee: £250 (Default: £250, a typical self-pay initial consultation fee (Solvable estimate). Change it to your own fee.)

Defaults only. Change them in the calculator to use your own numbers.

Assumptions and defaults

referrals per month = 30
contact rate = 75% (Solvable estimate)
booking rate = 60% (Solvable estimate)
share of lost referrals recoverable with a pathway owner and one route in = 25% (Solvable estimate: some referred patients choose the NHS or another clinic whatever you do)
initial consultation fee = £250 (Default: £250, a typical self-pay initial consultation fee (Solvable estimate). Change it to your own fee.)

Solvable estimate. At these defaults 55% of referrals, about 16 a month, do not reach a booking, a gross loss of about £49,500 a year (30 x 55% x £250 x 12). Recovering a quarter is worth roughly £12,400 a year, range £6,000 to £18,000. This counts the first consultation only, so it is a floor before follow-ups or procedures.

Benchmarks

About 45% of referrals reaching a booking
Typical clinic with no pathway owner: 75% contacted, 60% of those booked
Solvable estimate
Contact within 1 working day
A reasonable target for first contact after referral in UK private outpatient services
Solvable estimate

Every supplier I know who solves this. No one pays to be listed. Where I've worked with them, I say so.

Medico Digital
Marketing and websites
Healthcare digital marketing agency: websites, SEO, paid search and social for private hospitals, clinics and health companies.
Healthcare-only agency for websites, search and paid ads, working with private hospitals and multi-site clinics.
Best for: Private hospitals and multi-site clinics
Price on request
No commercial relationship
One Vision Health
Marketing and websites
Healthcare marketing agency for private practice: SEO and local SEO, paid search, medical website design, social media, brand strategy and managed patient video (AnswerPack).
Patient-facing apps and digital channels for private hospitals and clinic groups, based in London.
Best for: Consultants, clinics and hospitals wanting more patients from search, their website and video
Price on request
Former client
Semble
Practice management software
Practice management and patient records software for private clinics and consultants, covering scheduling, notes, telehealth and payments.
Clinic PMS covering bookings, notes, invoicing, online payments and a patient portal in one place.
Best for: Private consultants, clinics and clinic groups
Price on request
No commercial relationship

Know a supplier I have missed? Tell me Suggest yourself

Pathway design is rarely owned by anyone. Clinical teams focus on the treatment. Marketing focuses on awareness. Operations focuses on capacity. Nobody owns the end-to-end journey from "patient or referrer hears about this" to "patient is booked and attended." The result is a fragmented journey with drop-off at every stage.

No end-to-end pathway ownership
Referral process unclear or not communicated to GPs
Patient-facing enquiry process has friction or slow response
Service has no digital presence for patients searching directly
Different entry points (GP referral vs self-referral vs insurer) have different processes that aren't all working

service runs below capacity despite genuine patient need
referral admin is manual and time-consuming
GPs stop referring if the process is unclear or slow

What it looks like in practice

GPs say they don't know how to refer patients in
Enquiries come in but conversion to booked appointment is slow
Different team members give different answers about the referral process
No single page or document that explains the pathway clearly

Paul Robinson

14 years in UK private healthcare

I solve this one for clinic and hospital teams

Want a hand? I'll look at your situation and tell you the three things I'd tackle first.

A few quick questions, about two minutes. I read every one myself and usually reply the same day.

No sales call unless you ask for one. Just a straight answer from me.

I reply personally, usually the same day.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How many pathways should we build first?

One. Pick the service with most referrals or most complaints, get it working, then copy the template.

Do we need clinical sign-off?

Yes for entry criteria and red flags. The lead consultant should agree them, and your medical advisory committee may want to see them if you have one.

How do we handle insured patients?

Put insurer pre-authorisation into the pathway as a step. Ask for the authorisation code at booking and tell patients plainly that they must call their insurer first.

What if GPs keep sending referrals the old way?

Accept them, then reply with the new route and criteria each time.

How do we know it is working?

Track contact within one working day and referral to first appointment. If both improve over three months, it is.

Last reviewed: 30 October 2026

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The short answer

Where you stand, before and after

Do it yourself: step by step

1Pick one service and map itHalf a day · £0

2Count the leaks2 to 3 hours · £0

3Agree entry criteria with the clinicians1 to 2 weeks to get the meeting, 30 minutes to agree · £0

4Create one referral route1 week · £0 to £500 for a web form or PMS template (Solvable estimate)

5Put an owner and a clock on every handover1 to 2 days · £0

6Tell referrers and patients2 to 4 weeks · £0 to £300 for print or postage (Solvable estimate)

7Measure monthly and adjust1 hour a month · £0

Patient pathway map and referral criteria template

Common mistakes

Answer eight quick questions and I'll show you where patients fall out of your pathway

What I need from you

What you get

Check where you stand

Check where you stand5 questions · 2 min

What's this costing you?Optional: work it out with your own numbers

How we worked this outMethod, formula and assumptions

Suppliers who solve this3 suppliers. No one pays to be listed

Why this keeps happening

What it leads to