September 11, 2026

Making the Most of Your Caredove CBO Essentials Subscription

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September 11, 2026

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Many organizations sign up for Caredove to receive referrals online as part of a regional initiative, only using a few features to pick up referrals without any added benefits.


By simply maximizing tools available in our no-cost subscription, organizations can improve access to their services, reduce intake admin time, and increase referral volume. 


We’re outlining the highest-impact ways community organizations can make the most of Caredove.

Included with CBO Essentials

The CBO Essentials subscription includes core features many organizations need to modernize intake and referrals, including:

  • secure online referral forms,
  • public self-referrals,
  • online appointment availability sharing,
  • a secure referral inbox,
  • participation in referral networks,
  • and up to 5 Premium users


Many organizations are surprised how much they can accomplish using only the CBO Essentials plan.

1. Add “Book a Call” or “Request Service” Buttons to Your Website

This is the single biggest improvement most organizations can make.


Families and caregivers visiting your website are often ready to take action immediately. If they can’t easily request service online, they may:

  • leave the site,
  • call after hours and get voicemail,
  • forget to follow up,
  • or contact the wrong program


With Caredove, you can add direct service request links or intake booking buttons right on your website.

Examples:

  • “Book an Intake Call”
  • “Request Meals on Wheels”
  • “Get Help at Home”
  • “Refer a Client”
  • “Talk to Our Team”


Organizations that enable online booking and service requests often see:

  • More completed inquiries
  • Fewer lost leads
  • Less phone tag
  • Reduced voicemail backlog
  • Better client experience
  • Intake appointments booked automatically into staff calendars


Caredove clients commonly save up to 4 hours of staff time for every 10 booked referrals by avoiding callback loops and voicemail phone tag.


Adding a button to your website can often take less than 30 minutes.

2. Keep Your Service Listings Current

Outdated service information creates frustration for both clients and referral partners.


Organizations should regularly review:

  • eligibility criteria
  • wait times
  • contact information
  • service areas
  • program descriptions
  • intake instructions


Keeping listings updated is especially important because Caredove listings may also appear in:

  • regional coordinated access systems
  • partner referral networks
  • Ocean integrations
  • and other connected platforms


Updating your listing once in Caredove can automatically update it across connected systems through federated listings.

3. Let Clients Book Intake Appointments Online

Many intake coordinators spend large portions of their day returning calls and playing voicemail tag. Enabling an online booking process can actually save up to 4 hours of administrative time for every 10 booked referrals.


Caredove allows organizations to offer online intake appointment booking so clients can choose a time that works for them.


Benefits include:

  • fewer missed connections
  • fewer voicemails
  • lower no-show rates
  • and more predictable scheduling


Importantly, this does not replace phone-based intake.Many organizations successfully offer both traditional phone intake for clients who prefer it and online self-service booking for clients and caregivers comfortable using the internet.


This hybrid approach often improves access for everyone.

4. Empower Reception and Frontline Staff

Caredove is not only for intake coordinators.


Reception teams, program staff, navigators, and other frontline workers can also:

  • submit referrals
  • book appointments
  • route clients internally
  • and monitor referral status


This reduces situations where staff leave sticky notes. transfer calls repeatedly, or send people to voicemail.


Instead, staff can directly help clients access the correct service while they are already on the phone.


Many organizations still receive referrals through many different channels, such as:

  • phone calls
  • voicemail
  • fax
  • email
  • website contact forms
  • referrals from partner organizations


This creates duplicate work and increases the risk of missed requests.


Caredove helps centralize referrals into a single secure referral inbox, regardless of where the referral originated.


This means staff spend less time:

  • checking multiple systems
  • forwarding messages
  • manually re-entering information


It also gives managers better visibility into referral activity and response times.

5. Track Referral Outcomes and Use Reporting to Understand Trends

By closing the loop in Caredove, your referrers can feel confident that you are actively receiving referrals and connecting clients with care. Consistently updating these outcomes, combined with using platform reporting, is essential to demonstrating your organization's impact.


Reporting tools help you track:

  • referral volumes
  • referral sources
  • service demand
  • appointment activity
  • intake trends


These data-driven insights help you:

  • identify which services are most requested
  • understand where referrals are coming from
  • support additional funding applications
  • demonstrate positive program impact to funders and partners
  • find new ways to streamline referrals


Custom statuses and outcomes are also available, allowing you to use your own organizational terms rather than our out-of-the-box options.

6. Take Advantage of Regional Referral Networks

Your services may already be visible to:

  • primary care
  • hospitals
  • discharge planners
  • social workers
  • navigators
  • community partners


Making sure your listings are current and that your referral buttons work properly helps maximize those opportunities.


Caredove supports referrals from many different sources, including:

  • clinicians
  • hospitals
  • community organizations
  • self-referrals
  • caregivers
  • regional care coordination systems.

7. Start With Simple Improvements Before Pursuing Advanced Integrations

Many organizations assume they need EMR integrations, advanced automation, or expensive technical projects before they can improve intake workflows.


Usually, the highest-value improvements come first from:

  • fixing website access
  • improving referral visibility
  • centralizing intake
  • enabling online scheduling


Once referral volume increases and workflows are streamlined, organizations can then evaluate whether advanced integrations or automation features are worth pursuing.

7. Start With Simple Improvements Before Pursuing Advanced Integrations

The Caredove team can help organizations:

  • create or improve referral forms
  • add website buttons
  • update listings
  • configure intake workflows
  • train staff


Most staff can learn the platform in under an hour.


Support is available directly within the platform through live chat, along with tutorials and onboarding assistance.

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Access to community healthcare is paramount for individuals across various stages of life — from seniors desiring to age gracefully in their own homes, to new parents seeking care for their infants and individuals in need of mental health and addiction support. Traditionally, when we mention referrals, the image of a physician sending a document to a specialist comes to mind. However, the landscape of healthcare referrals is evolving, and it's time to redefine our approach. Gone are the days when referral management systems solely relied on healthcare professionals. Take Caredove, for example. What was once considered a referral management system has transformed significantly to a multichannel access management platform. Surprisingly, 43% of referral activity now stems from direct public sign-ups. This shift is monumental, with a staggering 70-fold increase in public service requests compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Clinician referrals will be the minority of service requests activity in our platform by the end of 2024. Why this paradigm shift? During the pandemic, communities learned the importance of direct access to essential services. The notion of gatekeeping community services in any manner like specialist services became obsolete. The crisis strengthened the muscles of direct access, emphasizing the significance of preventive health through social and other services that keep people out of hospitals and other care facilities. Moreover, primary care is under immense strain, with 15% of Canadians lacking consistent access to ongoing primary care. In such a scenario, burdening already stretched healthcare professionals with more referral duties is not sustainable. Accessing services directly not only expedites the process but also empowers individuals to take charge of their own health journey. It signifies readiness for change and recovery, without the artificial requirement of seeing a physician solely for a referral. Primary care remains crucial, and it's imperative to equip them with resources available at their fingertips, enabling them to navigate the healthcare landscape autonomously. After all, patients trust their primary care providers, and we should harness this trust. We also need to foster a culture of self-advocacy and consumer empowerment as part of a broader solution. Community agencies are champions of a healthcare system where individuals are empowered to take control of their health, supported by a network of trusted professionals. In an era of putting patients before paperwork, it is time to embrace direct access and take every bit of unnecessary administrative burden off family doctors and nurse practitioners, in the process.
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