Fact Sheet

Specialty care navigation

See how Marathon Health helps employers reduce unnecessary specialty referrals, steer members to high-value providers, and close every loop.
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Healthcare provider in scrubs takes notes on a clipboard during a phone call, coordinating a specialty care referral from primary care..

Specialty care referrals drive a significant share of downstream healthcare spend, yet most primary care models lack the data and infrastructure to manage them. The result is unnecessary care, fragmented coordination, and rising costs for employers and members. Marathon Health embeds specialty care navigation into advanced primary care, equipping providers to prevent avoidable referrals, steer members to high-value specialists, and coordinate care.

Primary care provider in white scrubs and a stethoscope reviews specialty referral data on a tablet in a bright clinic.
THE MARATHON APPROACH

A smarter path through specialty care 

Most specialty referrals are reactive. Marathon Health’s care navigation solution changes that by making primary care providers the central guide across every member's healthcare journey.

Through a four-part model—prevent, avoid, steer, and connect—Marathon equips providers to bring care upstream, resolve clinical questions before a referral is ever made, and route members to the highest-value specialists when one is needed.

Dedicated referral coordinators monitor and close every loop, while deep integrations with partners like Garner Health and Lantern extend reach across the benefits ecosystem.

The result: measurable reductions in unnecessary care and meaningful savings per completed referral.