Most medical offices that join a lien-based network for the first time underestimate two things — and overestimate one. They underestimate the lift on intake and on documentation; they overestimate how long it takes to see referrals show up. In a network with active attorney relationships, the first cases usually arrive in the first two weeks.
Intake is where new offices stumble. A lien patient needs a slightly different workflow: capture the attorney's contact information up front, confirm the case type (PI, WC, MVA), and route reports back to the law firm on a consistent cadence. Build a one-page intake script and train every front-desk staffer on it before the first referral lands.
Documentation is the second lift. Every encounter needs to read as if a defense adjuster will see it — because eventually one will. Date everything, cite mechanism in the patient's own words, and write impressions in plain clinical language. Member offices that get this right see lien reductions trend down and referral volume trend up within a quarter.
The last thing: communicate proactively with the attorney. Two-line status updates after each visit — even just 'patient seen today, plan unchanged' — build trust faster than any report.