A patient and clinician reviewing worksheets and a tablet together during a cognitive rehabilitation session

How Quickly Can Convivio Health Get a New BIRP or SIMP Patient Started?

July 13, 2026•4 min read

When you decide to refer a workers' compensation patient to an intensive rehabilitation program, timing matters.

Every week a patient waits is a week the claim extends, a week the injury has more time to set in, and a week that recovery gets harder. Once you've decided to refer, the first practical question is simple: how fast can they actually get in?

Here's how Convivio Health's intake process works for both BIRP and SIMP referrals.

What Happens After You Submit a Referral?

The intake process at Convivio Health has three steps. It's designed to move quickly and to keep your office informed at each stage.

Step 1: Open the conversation.
You can call, fax, or submit a referral online. You don't need a complete clinical file at this point. A brief overview of the patient, including diagnosis, workers' compensation claim status, and why standard care hasn't been enough, is all it takes to get started.

Step 2: Case review.
Convivio's clinical team reviews the patient's records to confirm that BIRP or SIMP is the right fit. This step protects the patient's time and yours. If the program is appropriate, the team moves quickly to the next step. If there's a question, they'll reach out to your office directly.

Step 3: Coordination and program start.
Once the case is accepted, the intake team coordinates with your office and the patient to schedule the evaluation and set a program start date. For BIRP patients who live outside reasonable commuting distance of Lynnwood, Convivio handles travel and lodging coordination so that access isn't a barrier.

How Long Does BIRP Intake Take?

Convivio's intake team is actively managing the process. They are not waiting for your office to chase paperwork.

The speed of intake depends most on two things your office controls.

How complete the clinical information is. Cases where the team receives a clear diagnosis, recent treatment notes, and the workers' compensation claim details move through review much faster than cases that need follow-up requests. The more complete the referral package, the faster the review.

L&I authorization. For workers' compensation cases, L&I authorization is required before a patient can start. Convivio's team knows the L&I process well and can help navigate it, but the authorization timeline has factors outside either party's control.

The best way to get an accurate timeline for your specific patient is to call. Convivio's intake team can tell you exactly where things stand based on current program availability and what documentation is already in hand.

If you're still weighing whether BIRP is the right next step, How BIRP Helps When Physical Therapy Is Not Enough covers how the program is structured differently from standard outpatient care, and what that difference means for complex brain injury cases.

How Long Does SIMP Intake Take?

The SIMP intake process follows the same three steps as BIRP: referral, case review, coordination.

The SIMP program runs for 20 intensive days. It is designed for workers' compensation patients with chronic pain that hasn't responded to standard outpatient care. Patients who clearly fit the SIMP profile, including pain persisting beyond expected timelines, a functional plateau, and a delayed return-to-work trajectory, typically move through case review efficiently.

As with BIRP, a quick call before submitting the formal referral can help confirm program fit and often shortens the overall timeline.

For a full picture of what SIMP is designed to address and who it's right for, What Is SIMP Pain Management and How Is It Different? is a useful starting point before you refer.

What Can Your Admin Team Do to Speed Things Up?

The single most effective step is sending a complete clinical package with the initial referral. That typically includes:

Current diagnosis and how the injury occurred
Treatment history, including what has been tried and why it hasn't produced functional progress
Most recent clinical notes from the treating provider
Workers' compensation claim number and case manager contact information
Any relevant imaging, neuropsychological evaluation, or FCE results

When the case review team has a complete picture from the start, review moves faster and fewer follow-up requests are needed.

Your admin team can also call Convivio's intake coordinators before submitting the referral. They'll walk through exactly what's needed and identify any documentation gaps upfront, so the formal submission is ready to move.

What Happens During the Program?

One of the things referring physicians tell us matters most: knowing what's happening with their patient after the referral goes in.

At Convivio Health, communication with referring providers is built into the program structure. The clinical team provides bi-weekly updates to vocational rehabilitation counselors and claim managers throughout both BIRP and SIMP. At the end of the program, a comprehensive closing report documents the patient's functional status, any restrictions identified, and clear recommendations for the next phase of care.

If you have a question during the program, you have direct access to clinical leads. You don't have to wait for the next scheduled update.

Why integrated care under one roof gets patients back to work faster explains how that coordinated communication structure supports better outcomes across the full course of care.