Background
Send the Outward Referral to an External Provider/Specialist
Update the Status of the Outward Referral
Update the Referral Status if Appointment is Booked with Specialist (Client Not Informed)
Update the Referral Status if Appointment is Booked with Specialist (Client Informed)
Update the Referral Status if the Specialist Declined
Background
Outward Referrals are referrals created within the EMR and sent by your clinic to external providers (e.g. specialists) or other EMR clinics. Clinicians are responsible for creating the Outward Referral in the EMR. CSCs are responsible for faxing the referral to the external provider/specialist and updating the progress of the referral.
Send the Outward Referral to an External Provider/Specialist
1. From the Work Centre go to Referrals.
2. Double-click on the referral that you want to send to the external provider/specialist.
3. As per your clinic’s processes, review the referral for completeness. Click on the Print icon to print the referral, and send it to the external provider/specialist (e.g. fax, mail, etc.).
4. Change the Progress to Sent to Specialist.
Note: By changing the Progress, it will move the referral to a different View Filter in Referrals (Out – Sent to Specialist).
Update the Status of the Outward Referral
The external provider/specialist will determine if the client is accepted to their service. If you receive a faxed appointment notice from the external provider/specialist, you should import it into the client’s Medical Record via the Scan Processor. Following this, you will have to update the status of the referral in the original Outward Referral.
1. From the Work Centre go to Referrals.
2. Change the View Filter to Out - Sent to Specialist.
3. Double-click the referral you want to update.
Note: You can sort the referrals alphabetically or sequentially by clicking on the column headers. For example, if you want to sort by the date of the referral, click on the Date Referred column header.
Update the Referral Status if Appointment is Booked with Specialist (Client Not Informed)
If you are notified that an appointment has been booked for you client with the external provider/specialist BUT you have not informed the client yet, update the referral as follows:
1. To open the referral, follow Steps 1-3 in section Updating the Outward Referral’s Status.
2. In the Date/Time fields, enter the date and time of the booked appointment.
3. In the Notes free text box, enter any relevant notes (e.g. Left voicemail, sent a letter, etc.).
4. Change Decision to Accepted.
5. Change Progress to Appointment Booked.
6. Click Save & Close.
Update the Referral Status if Appointment is Booked with Specialist (Client Informed)
If you are notified that an appointment has been booked for you client with the external provider/specialist AND you have informed the client, update the referral as follows:
1. To open the referral, follow steps 1-3 in section Updating the Outward Referral’s Status.
2. In the Date/Time fields, enter the date and time of the booked appointment.
3. Tick the Client Informed checkbox. The date and time will auto-populate.
4. In the Notes free text box, enter any relevant notes (e.g. Confirmed appointment with client)
5. Change Decision to Accepted.
6. Change Progress to Appointment Booked.
7. Change Status to Closed.
8. Click Save & Close.
Update the Referral Status if the Specialist Declined
If the referral was declined and this information was sent to the clinic via a fax notice, it should be scanned and imported into the EMR [see Scan Processor article]. The notice will then appear in the ordering clinician’s Unsigned Transactions for review.
1. Follow Steps 1-3 in section Updating the Outward Referral’s Status.
2. Change Status to Closed.
3. In the Notes free text box, enter any relevant notes (e.g. Reason the specialist declined the referral).
4. Change Decision to Declined.
5. Change Progress to Specialist Declined.
6. If you received a faxed notice that the referral was declined and you have already imported the scanned fax into the EMR, click Save & Close.
If you received a phone call that the referral was declined, click Save and continue to Step 7.
7. With the Outward Referral open, create a new task by clicking on the New Task icon OR pressing the F3 key on the keyboard.
8. Create a new task for the ordering clinician informing them of the referral being declined. This will link the referral in the task.
For information on how clinicians process Outward Referrals, refer to the Outward Referrals – to Specialists article.