Referrals

Introduction

The Refer command is available to document and send a referral. An outbound referral is a request for transfer of care or request to provide assessment, treatment or clinical advice on the care of a patient.

Key Objectives

• You will learn how to use the refer command within a patient's chart.
• You will learn how to commit the referral command.
• You will learn how your care coordination team will handle delegated referrals. 
• You will learn how to send referrals using the print or fax option.

Video

FAQ:

Q: I made a mistake, how do I remove this command?

A: Commands can be entered in error, but not deleted.  Please review the Entering a Command in Error document for directions.  

Q: What documents can I include in a referral under the Documents to Include?

A: You can include any type of note, phone calls, labs, imaging, and other uncategorized documents.

Q: Does committing the referral command using DELEGATE or REFER send the referral?

A: No, the referral must still be faxed to the specialist, printed for the specialist, or printed for the patient to take with them.

Q: Why does the referral command reset when I select DELEGATE?

A: A team with the responsibility to coordinate referrals for a patient must be created in Teams for the referral command to Delegate and for the commitment of this command to save. Additionally, only one team can have this responsibility. 

Step by Step

• Begin this process in an open note in the desired patient's chart 
• Type "refer" into a blank line within the note
• Select the command by hitting Enter on the keyboard
• Type the desired specialty or specialist into the Refer To field
• Navigate through the remaining fields by selecting Tab between each field
  
  • • • Indications: the diagnosis related to referral
      • Clinical Question: This field gives you four options:
        • Cognitive Assistance
        • Assistance with Ongoing Management
        • Specialized Intervention
        • Diagnostic Uncertainty
      • Priority: select priority:
        • Routine
        • Urgent
      • Notes to Specialist: any free text to give specific notes to the specialist
      • Include Visit Note: toggle to include the current visit note
      • Internal Comment: any free text for notes within the office
      • Documents Include provides the ability to select multiple documents to include with the referral packet.

Commit the Referral command

NOTE: A team with the responsibility to coordinate referrals for a patient must be created in teams to be able to delegate the referral command.

•  Click DELEGATE or REFER after the command is completed. Access the REFER option by selecting the drop-down arrow next to DELEGATE. 
  • • DELEGATE: creates a task for the care coordination team to complete any additional steps for the referral. Once selected a yellow PENDING message will display along with a blue REFER button. The yellow pending message refers to the task pending NOT the referral. Referral staff will then return to the patient chart to click Refer.

or

• • • • REFER: commits the command, skips delegating to your care coordination team, and marks the referral as COMPLETE. This also adds the referral to the Outstanding Referrals queue where it will live until a specialist consult report is received. 

 

Steps for the Care Coordinating Team to complete the delegated command

• Click on the task icon located in the top right of the Schedule View to see all tasks assigned to your team
• Locate the referral task assigned 
• Assign task to yourself or whoever will be completing the task if not already assigned
• Read comments and complete any request related to this referral to complete the task
• Click on the #Patient'sName to open the chart 
• Find the command which should have the PENDING message and REFER button visible 
• Make changes to the command if needed
• Select REFER and only the PENDING message will be visible
• Click on the task icon located in the top right 
• Locate the task related to the referral
• Select Done to complete the task and a message confirming completion of the task will appear along with the option to Undo
• Refresh the chart and the referral order will now be COMPLETED

Sending the Referral 

• Select Refer after completing the Refer command
• Click on the triple dot menu to the right of the command which will give you the following options:
  • • • Select Print for the patient: if printing the referral for the patient and a preview window appears from which you can print.

Or

• • • • Select Print for Specialist: if printing the referral for a Specialist and a preview window appears from which you can print

Or

• • • • Select Fax if you need to fax the referral to a specialist/facility and a new modal appears requesting confirmation

NOTE: When you select fax, it gives you about a seven second warning before the fax is sent to the specialist. You can choose to forgo the wait time and just send the fax or cancel the action for any reason.

Roles

• Provider
• Clinical Staff