> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.perfectreferral.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Motivation & approach

A referral is a medical decision, but the tools meant to support it often fall short.
The shallow decision trees and the incomplete, inaccurate directories that should
point a patient toward the right provider too often point them toward the wrong one:
someone who doesn't perform the procedure, doesn't take the plan, or can't see them
for months.

In our own work, we've found that roughly 70% of referral obstacles could have been
prevented with better information available at the moment the referral was made.
That's the root cause we're after. The information that prevents those obstacles is
diverse: what a provider actually does, where they actually practice, what patients
actually experience, whether they can actually be seen. So we're building it one
domain at a time, beginning with scope of practice.

## Grounded in practice, not principle

Our models exist to improve referrals for patients, and that purpose defines
their boundaries. We're not trying to determine whether a provider could perform a
service in principle (whether their license or training permits it). We're trying to
determine whether a referral is appropriate in practice. A retina specialist is an
ophthalmologist, and in principle is capable of cataract surgery; in practice, a
routine cataract referral does not belong with them. Our methods are built to capture
the second judgment, not the first.

That framing also means we will sometimes not know the answer. For some services the
data lets us confidently rule a provider out but not confidently rule them in. Where
that asymmetry exists, we say so rather than guess.

## The modules

Each page details the methodological approach, how we validate it, and its known
limitations. Click into any module to learn more.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Referral Scope Match" icon="stethoscope" href="/methodology/referral-scope-match">
    **Open beta**

    Routine referral categories matched to what a provider actually does, derived
    from observed practice patterns.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Location & Affiliation Probability" icon="location-dot">
    **Closed beta**

    Where a provider actually practices and who they're affiliated with.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Patient Experience" icon="comment-medical">
    **Closed beta**

    What patients actually report about access and experience.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Availability" icon="calendar-check">
    **In development**

    Whether, and how soon, a provider can be seen.
  </Card>

  <Card title="In Network Probability" icon="shield-check">
    **In development**

    Likelihood that a provider will still be in network in the next 90 days.
  </Card>

  <Card title="More on the way" icon="ellipsis">
    **Coming soon**

    We're building toward every piece of information that prevents a referral
    obstacle. Tell us what would help most.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>