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While there are many good reasons why a doctor might refer a patient to an outside physician, from an organizational standpoint this occurrence — known as referral leakage — is bad for business. Organizations lose on average $780,000 annually per employed physician that refers out of the health system, according to ReferralMD, a physician referral management organization. That translates to an estimated $200 million to $500 million in lost revenue to competitors each year.