As Networks Narrow, Skilled Nursing Operators Will Win Referrals Using Transitions of Care Data in Olio

Olio launches Transitions of Care Insights, giving Skilled Nursing Operators the data to prove their performance to referral partners and earn more referrals

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skilled nursing operators are accountable for patient outcomes well beyond their own walls, and hospitals and payers are responding by narrowing their networks to the SNFs they see as top performers. Olio, the care coordination platform built for transitions of care, has launched an interactive data tool that helps SNFs understand their own performance to prove they belong in those networks. Data displayed shows how SNFs manage each patient from admission through discharge and the weeks after the patient goes home.

When Hospitals Compare SNF Partners

Hospitals regularly sit down with their SNF partners to review readmissions and outcomes across the market. As payers and hospitals narrow their networks, those reviews increasingly determine who continues to receive referrals.

The questions are specific. How many of the hospital’s patients did the SNF admit, and how complex were they? Where did they go after discharge, what services were set up at home, and how did they do over the following weeks?

Most SNFs can't answer those questions right now. Without evidence, referral decisions can come down to a liaison's relationships or how new the building looks. A SNF delivering strong outcomes has no way to prove its value.

The Data SNFs Have Been Missing, Now Available in Olio

For the first time, Olio gives operators the power to walk into any hospital or payer meeting with their own data.

• Hospital-level reporting. Each referring hospital’s patients were followed from admission and discharge through the receiving agency, the first visit, and any readmission
• Admissions. Referral volume by source and payer, accept and decline decisions with reasons, and response time
• Outcomes. Discharge destinations, safe-return activity, and readmissions in the 30 days after discharge, by partner, building, and market
• Home health and hospice. Agency acceptance, days from discharge to first visit, service refusals, and how responsive each agency is

"Instead of showing up with 'we're pretty, please pick us,' Olio Insights lets us show health plans our investment in the full care journey," said Julie Minning, SVP of Strategy, Ignite Medical Resorts. "Claims data has us talking about what happened six months ago. Start of care, home health refusals, and readmissions after discharge are what our partners should be looking at."

The Handoff Home

Skilled nursing operators are held accountable for patient outcomes in the 30 days after discharge, yet most lose visibility into patients' care during that window. In a national study of Medicare patients, nearly 1 in 4 discharged home from a SNF were readmitted within 30 days, and the risk was highest in the first 2 days. Many of these readmissions may be preventable. A study of older adults in Indianapolis found that a home health visit within a week of SNF discharge was associated with a 39% lower risk of 30-day readmission.

Hospitals already hold their post-acute partners to performance standards. SNFs must apply the same discipline to the home health and hospice agencies they refer to, tracking which agencies accept patients, how many days pass before the first visit, and whether the agency provides updates when a patient’s condition changes. A discharge becomes a documented, managed handoff that operators can stand behind.

“We use those insights to make more informed referral decisions and continuously evaluate our post-acute partners. It moves us from simply asking, ‘Who can take this patient?’ to asking, ‘Which partner is best positioned to help this patient succeed after discharge?’” Rachelle Thompson, Clinical Manager of Transitional Care, CarDon & Associates

Putting the Data to Work

With hospitals, operators can show how each hospital's patients fared during and after their SNF stay, and what the team changed to improve. That track record helps secure a spot in preferred networks and protects the referrals that drive census. The same data strengthens payer relationships, where operators can bring start-of-care timing, readmissions, and partner follow-through for a plan's members into contract conversations. Within the operation, it provides leaders with evidence to build a preferred group of home health and hospice agencies based on performance, while families keep their choice of provider.

“Referrals are a SNF's lifeblood. Lose them, and you lose census and revenue. Processing referrals faster won't bring in more of them,” said Ben Forrest, founder and CEO at Olio. “The smarter revenue play is earning more referrals in the first place. Give hospitals a reason to send you their next patient because they trust what happens at both doors.”

Stop by booth #733 at AHCA/NCAL Delivering Solutions 2026 in Boston, October 11-14 to see a live demo of Olio Insights. To learn more, visit olio.health.

About Olio

Olio is the care coordination platform built for transitions of care. Olio connects skilled nursing operators, health systems, payers, home health agencies, hospice organizations, and other post-acute partners in one system that manages every step of the transition, from referral and admission through census, discharge, downstream handoffs, and post-discharge follow-up. The result is the insight organizations need to improve outcomes, strengthen partnerships, and grow.