CRM to integrate with Practice Fusion for primary care practices: What to know

Practice Fusion gives independent primary care practices a cloud-based EHR for managing patient records and everyday clinical work, accessible from any browser. 

But growing a practice involves a different set of tasks: 

• Following up with prospective patients who inquire about care and helping them book an appointment. 

• Building relationships with referral sources who can send new patients to the practice. 

• Tracking which marketing efforts bring in new-patient inquiries and appointments. 

A customer relationship management (CRM) system keeps that work in one place, so fewer prospective patients slip through and every marketing dollar is accounted for. 

This guide explores the CRM workflows that complement Practice Fusion and what to consider when choosing a CRM for your primary practice. 

What Practice Fusion does well and where a CRM adds value 

Practice Fusion and a CRM support different parts of an independent primary care practice’s work. 

Practice Fusion helps manage clinical workflows: 

• Patient charts and medical records 

• Electronic prescriptions and lab orders 

• Browser-based access to patient information 

A CRM helps manage patient acquisition and follow-up: 

• Collect prospective patient details from website forms and phone calls so staff can track each inquiry. 

• Assign inquiries to staff, record contact attempts, and flag people who still need a response. 

• Track which referring providers or community partners send prospective patients and whether those inquiries lead to appointments. 

• Compare inquiries and booked appointments by source, such as website forms, paid ads, and referrals. 

• Schedule follow-up messages for prospective patients and reminders for appropriate preventive visits, based on approved patient lists and practice-defined workflows. 

Practice Fusion supports clinical operations. A CRM adds a structured way to manage prospective patients and see which outreach efforts lead to appointments. 

5 CRM workflows that help independent primary care practices grow 

1. Capture new patient inquiries and follow up until booking 

When someone is looking for a new primary care provider, a slow response or a missed follow-up can mean a lost appointment. A CRM helps: 

• Capture prospective patient details from website forms and connected advertising or communication channels. 

• Assign each inquiry to the appropriate staff member so someone is responsible for responding. 

• Record calls, messages, and follow-up attempts to show what has happened and what still needs attention. 

• Track how many inquiries lead to booked appointments when staff record bookings in the CRM or it receives booking details from a connected scheduling system. 

For example, someone submits a website form asking whether the practice accepts new patients. The CRM records the inquiry and prompts the assigned staff member to call. If the person doesn’t book during that conversation, staff can schedule another follow-up instead of relying on memory or an untracked email. 

2. Run annual wellness visit recall campaigns 

Medicare Part B covers eligible patients’ Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) once every 12 months, subject to Medicare’s coverage rules. A CRM can help practices reach patients who may be due for a visit and make scheduling easier. 

Staff can use approved patient data to create a recall list, then send appointment reminders through supported channels such as email or text messaging. The CRM can record responses and flag patients who haven’t booked, giving staff a clear list for follow-ups. 

3. Coordinate chronic care outreach 

Patients managing chronic conditions may need regular tests and follow-up visits. A CRM helps practice staff keep track of the communication needed to arrange this care. 

For example, the clinical team may identify patients with diabetes who need a foot examination or have an A1C test planned. Staff can use an approved list to send reminders, record calls or messages, and flag patients who haven’t responded or scheduled a visit. This makes it easier to see which follow-ups are still outstanding. 

The clinical team determines which patients need outreach and when, based on their care plans. The CRM supports the administrative work by organizing tasks and tracking contact attempts. 

4. Reach potential new patients in the local area 

Independent practices can use local advertising to reach people looking for a primary care provider nearby. For example, a practice could run an ad campaign aimed at people who have recently moved into the area. Reaching this audience may require an advertising platform or data provider. 

When someone responds through the practice website or an advertising form, a CRM can capture their details, record which campaign generated the inquiry, and prompt staff to follow up. From here, staff can then track whether the inquiry leads to a booked appointment. 

Over time, comparing inquiries and bookings across campaigns helps the practice understand which local marketing efforts are attracting prospective patients. 

5. Request reviews and monitor online reputation 

Online reviews can influence whether prospective patients consider a practice. A CRM can help staff request feedback after visits and track those requests. If the CRM doesn’t monitor reviews itself, the practice can connect it to a reputation-management platform that collects reviews from sites such as Google and helps staff monitor new feedback. 

For example, the practice can send a review request by text or email after an appointment through a supported communication channel. Staff can track which requests were sent and review new feedback through the connected platform. If a review raises a concern, they can direct it to the appropriate team for follow-up. 

Can Practice Fusion integrate with a CRM through APIs or HL7?

 Practice Fusion publishes FHIR R4 API documentation that allows authorized third-party applications to access supported health information, subject to permissions and access requirements. 

An API is a way for two software systems to exchange information. FHIR provides a standard structure for that exchange. 

Practice Fusion also provides HL7 documentation for specific lab and imaging integrations, including the exchange of lab orders and results. This does not mean every CRM can connect to Practice Fusion through HL7.  

For a primary care practice, the key question is whether the chosen CRM can exchange the information needed for its workflows. Before committing, confirm whether a ready-made connector exists, which fields can be shared, whether updates happen automatically, and whether additional setup or custom development is required. 

If no ready-made connector is available, the practice should ask both vendors whether a custom connection is feasible. The available APIs and supported data will determine what can be exchanged. 

How to choose a cost-effective CRM for a small practice 

For a small primary care practice, the most affordable CRM isn’t necessarily the one with the lowest advertised price. Before choosing a plan, check: 

• Whether billing is monthly or annual and whether a minimum contract applies. 

• How much does each additional user or practice location costs. 

• Whether setup, staff training, messaging, and third-party integrations carry separate fees. 

• Whether you can start with essential workflows, such as inquiry follow-up and appointment tracking, then add capabilities as your needs grow. 

• How many hours of staff time will the system save each week on record updates and patient outreach? 

Ask vendors to estimate the full cost based on your team size, expected message volume, and integration needs. A CRM that looks cheaper on paper may cost more once you account for setup fees, paid integrations, extra user licenses, or charges for patient messages. 

It may also lack the automation or reporting features your practice needs, leading to more manual work or an upgrade to a higher-priced plan. 

Compare the total cost of running the CRM and how well it addresses your practice’s main needs, rather than choosing based on the subscription price alone. 

How to ensure HIPAA compliance when connecting Practice Fusion and a CRM

Before sharing patient information between Practice Fusion and a CRM, a practice should establish what data will move between the systems and who will protect it. 

If the CRM vendor creates, receives, maintains, or transmits protected health information (PHI) on the practice’s behalf, it will generally qualify as a business associate under HIPAA. 

The practice must have an appropriate business associate agreement (BAA) in place. However, a BAA alone does not ensure compliance. Both parties must meet their applicable HIPAA obligations and implement appropriate safeguards 

Ask the CRM vendor how it restricts access through user permissions, protects data with encryption, and records activity in audit logs. Clarify how information moves between the CRM and Practice Fusion, and which party handles security at each step. 

Finally, share only the information the workflow requires. For example, following up with a prospective patient may need their contact details and inquiry status, not their full medical history. 

Limiting the data transferred reduces unnecessary exposure and helps keep the CRM focused on its intended purpose. 

Use case: Planning growth from 800 to 1,500 active patients 

Hypothetical scenario 

Let’s say a solo primary care practice has 800 active patients and wants to reach 1,500. 

Before increasing its marketing efforts, the practice needs to understand whether it can attract new patients, convert their inquiries into appointments, and accommodate additional demand. 

A CRM helps the practice identify where prospective patients drop out of the booking process. If inquiries go unanswered or people don’t schedule after their first contact, the practice can address those gaps before spending more on advertising. It can also track which referral sources lead to completed visits, helping the team focus on sources that produce results. 

As demand grows, the practice must assess whether its appointment capacity and staffing can support a larger number of patients. 

The CRM helps the practice make these decisions using its own data. It can support a more organized growth process, but reaching 1,500 patients depends on local demand, conversion rates, and the practice’s capacity to provide care. 

Add a growth layer to your Practice Fusion setup 

Getting inquiries from prospective patients is a start. 

What matters next is how consistently your team follows up, helps people book appointments, and tracks which referral sources bring in patients. 

LeadSquared’s healthcare CRM helps primary care practices organize these activities and understand how their patient acquisition efforts are performing.

If you’re considering LeadSquared alongside Practice Fusion, the next step is to explore how our CRM could fit your workflows. 

Book a demo of LeadSquared to see how it could help your team manage inquiries, follow-ups, and referral activities more effectively. 

FAQs