* Background/Purpose: What happens when public health thinks like a business partnership? Faced with low referral volume into the Family Connects program, we adopted a business development/sales approach to drive utilization. This project examined the effectiveness of this strategy. Research question: Can a business development/sales approach increase referrals from physician offices into a program? Hypothesis: Aligning referral processes with provider workflows, identifying mutual value with clinical partners, and addressing barriers will increase referrals and provider participation. * Methods: Participants included families with newborns and referring physician practices. This project employed intervention procedures and methods of data collection and analysis over a two-year period. Intervention procedures applied business development and sales strategies to identify mutual value with clinical partners and align referral processes with provider workflows. Key activities included designing workflow-integrated referral processes, conducting targeted provider engagement, identifying and addressing barriers, and integrating pathways into healthcare systems. Instrumentation included EHR-based transmissions and faxed forms. Data collected included referral volume from physician offices, number of referring providers, and clinical sites. Measures were tracked to assess outreach effectiveness. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and trend analyses, including time series analysis, to evaluate changes in referral patterns and assess the impact of outreach strategies. * Results: Referrals from physician offices increased from 0 to an average of 50/month, with growth in the number of referring clinical sites and providers. The capture rate relative to the estimated eligible population also improved. Trend and time series analyses demonstrated a sustained increase in referral volume. * Implications: Business development strategies can transform public health outreach from promotion into a structured function that improves utilization. Organizations can replicate this approach using business strategies, resource allocation, and strategic relationship management to build sustainable, scalable access pathways. * Additional time enables hands-on application, small-group discussion, and audience examples using a structured workbook.
