How to Score Patient Inquiries by Value for Your Practice
A practical guide to scoring patient inquiries for healthcare practices. Learn the four dimensions of effective inquiry scoring.
Patient inquiry scoring assigns a numerical value (0-100) to each new patient inquiry based on how likely it is to convert and how much revenue it represents. It eliminates guesswork by giving your intake team a data-driven priority queue instead of a first-come, first-served inbox.
The problem with most healthcare intake workflows is that every inquiry looks equal. A $50,000 surgical consult referral from a physician and a $200 routine wellness inquiry from a Google Ad sit in the same queue. Scoring fixes this by automatically ranking each inquiry so your team knows what to work on first.
What is the four-dimension scoring model for healthcare?
TriageCRM uses a composite score from 0 to 100, weighted across four dimensions adapted for healthcare practices:
1. Referral source quality (0-25 points)
Not all referral sources convert equally. A physician referral has far higher conversion rates and typically higher case values than a cold web inquiry.
| Source | Score |
|---|---|
| Physician referral | 25 |
| Existing patient referral | 22 |
| Insurance directory / Healthgrades | 18 |
| Website inquiry | 15 |
| Psychology Today / Zocdoc | 14 |
| Google Ads | 10 |
| Social media (organic) | 8 |
| Groupon / deal sites | 3 |
2. Service value potential (0-30 points)
Higher-value services deserve faster attention. Map your service lines by typical revenue:
| Service Type | Score |
|---|---|
| Surgical consult ($20,000+) | 30 |
| Cosmetic/elective ($5,000-$15,000) | 25 |
| Specialty (PI, orthotics, implants) | 22 |
| Concierge/cash-pay program ($5K+) | 22 |
| New comprehensive exam ($500-$2,000) | 15 |
| Routine wellness/cleaning ($150-$500) | 8 |
| Unknown / not specified | 5 |
3. Contact completeness (0-25 points)
Inquiries with complete information are easier to work and more likely to convert:
| Field | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone number | 7 |
| Email address | 5 |
| Insurance information | 5 |
| Specific service requested | 4 |
| Preferred provider/location | 2 |
| Referring physician name | 2 |
4. Inquiry recency (0-20 points)
Patient inquiries go cold fast. The first practice to call back wins in most cases:
| Age | Score |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 hour | 20 |
| 1-4 hours | 17 |
| 4-24 hours | 14 |
| 1-3 days | 10 |
| 3-7 days | 6 |
| Over 1 week | 2 |
How do you calculate a patient inquiry score?
Example: High-value inquiry
A physician referral for a surgical consult with complete contact info, submitted 2 hours ago:
- Referral source: 25 (physician referral)
- Service value: 30 (surgical consult)
- Completeness: 23 (phone, email, insurance, service, referring MD)
- Recency: 17 (1-4 hours)
- Total: 95/100
This patient should be called back immediately.
Example: Low-value inquiry
A Groupon lead with just an email, requesting a routine service, submitted 5 days ago:
- Referral source: 3 (Groupon)
- Service value: 8 (routine wellness)
- Completeness: 5 (email only)
- Recency: 6 (3-7 days)
- Total: 22/100
This inquiry goes into the nurture queue.
How do you customize scoring for your practice type?
Dental practices
Weight service value highest. A $15K full-mouth reconstruction vs. a $200 cleaning should create a dramatic score difference. Give extra points for cosmetic-specific language (“veneers”, “implants”, “smile makeover”).
Therapy and counseling practices
Weight referral source and completeness highest. Clients from existing patient referrals convert better than directory listings. Completeness should include presenting concerns and insurance — incomplete inquiries often don’t convert.
Med spas
Weight referral source heavily to distinguish organic Instagram followers (high-value) from paid Groupon leads (low-value). Add bonus points for specific high-value treatments (body contouring, laser skin resurfacing).
Orthopedic and surgical practices
Weight referral source at maximum — physician referrals are your bread and butter. Score by body region and case type to route to the right surgeon’s scheduler.
Chiropractic
Create a dramatic score gap between PI/auto accident cases (high-value, time-sensitive) and routine wellness visits. PI cases should score 2-3x higher.
How do you automate inquiry scoring?
TriageCRM calculates scores automatically and updates them as inquiry data changes. Combine scoring with triage rules to auto-route high-score inquiries to your best intake coordinators, or use round-robin assignment to distribute standard inquiries evenly.
You can also combine scoring with prioritization rules: any inquiry scoring 70+ gets automatic HIGH priority, while inquiries below 30 get tagged for nurture follow-up. See our guide on prioritizing patient inquiries for the complete workflow.
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Related resources
- HIPAA compliant CRM for healthcare
- Healthcare practice marketing ROI
- What is patient inquiry triage?
- Lead scoring guide
Frequently asked questions
What is a good patient inquiry score? In the 0-100 model, inquiries scoring 70+ are high-priority candidates for immediate callback. Scores of 40-70 are standard priority. Inquiries below 40 are better suited for nurture sequences or lower-priority follow-up.
How many dimensions should an inquiry scoring model have? Four dimensions (referral source quality, service value potential, contact completeness, inquiry recency) provide a balanced model for healthcare. Too few dimensions miss important signals; too many add complexity without improving accuracy.
Should inquiry scores decay over time? Yes. The inquiry recency dimension ensures that older inquiries naturally lose score points, keeping your queue focused on fresh opportunities. A 5-day-old inquiry that hasn’t been contacted is likely already shopping elsewhere.
How is patient inquiry scoring different from lead scoring? The mechanics are the same — composite scoring across multiple dimensions. The difference is in the dimensions: healthcare inquiry scoring uses referral source quality, service value potential, and clinical contact completeness rather than generic sales metrics like company size or job title. For a deeper comparison, see our general lead scoring guide.