Referrals Guide- Best practices for tracking referrals

Contents

• What are Referrals?
• Keeping track of referrals using reminders
• Following up on referrals
  1. Receiving a reminder
  2. Reviewing a patient's record for referral completion
  3. Continuous follow up
• Frequently Asked Questions

What are Referrals?

Referrals are recommendations or directions given to patient to see another medical provider for consultation, review or further action for any health conditions. Referrals are generally used by primary care providers (PCPs) and directed towards specialists; especially for patients whose insurance requires direct referrals for specialists from PCPs. 

Review the Letters & Referrals Introduction article for more information on how to generate a Referral using Elation.

 

Keeping track of referrals using reminders

Using Elation's User Groups and Office Message feature is one way you can track referral statuses and completion because the Office Message feature can be used as an internal reminder tool. Follow the steps below to create a reminder to track a Referral:
 

1. Create a "Referral" user group by going to "Settings" >> User Groups"
   1. Click "+Add User Group"
   2. Enter the name of all individuals in your practice that will assist with Referrals follow up (you can also include yourself) and name the user group 'Referrals'
   3. Click "Save" to save the user group
2. Track Referrals:
   1. After sending a Referral, click "Actions" >> "Office Message" on the Referral.
   2. Enter 'Referrals (Group)' as the recipient
   3. Enter a date in the post-date box for when you want the Referrals Team to follow up on the referral
   4. Click "Send"

The message will be in the Outstanding Items section of the patient's chart so that anyone can see the reminder when they are in the patient's chart. When it is time for the message to be sent, the message will move to the Requiring Action section of the patient's chart for all members of the 'Referrals' user group to take action.

 

Following up on referrals

 

A common workflow for following up on Referrals is outlined below.

1) Receiving a reminder

Once the Post Date arrives, all members of the 'Referrals' user group will receive the office message tracking a referral and will be able to follow up on the referral.

• User Tip: To view only the messages related to referrals, users can use the Practice Home filters to filter office messages by only the ones 'Addressed to group: Referrals'. 

 

2) Reviewing patient's record for referral completion

Upon receiving a reminder in the Practice Home, members of the 'Referral' user group can:

1. Click on the patient's name to open the patient's chart
2. Look in the Chronological Record or Reports section of the patient's chart for indications that the Referral was completed. Common indications are:
   • Consultation report sent by the referred provider
   • Test reports with the referred doctor's name in the "Ordered By" field
3. If there are no indications that a Referral was completed, the individual can follow up on the Referral for completion

 

3) Continuous follow up

It may often take a couple of interactions before a Referral is completed. Common follow-ups that we have seen are:

• practice contacts patient to see if the patient scheduled an appointment with the referred provider yet
  • User Tip: We recommend using Patient Passport to follow up with the patient as it is the most secure method for patient communication
• practice contacts the referred provider's office to see if patient has been scheduled. If the patient was already seen you can take advantage of this interaction and ask for a copy of the consultation and tests completed
  • User Tip: Often times you can even assist the patient with scheduling an appointment when permitted.

Actions taken and updates can be logged for the Referral follow in the same office message thread as the initial reminder. Once the Referral follow up is completed, users can close out the thread. 

• User Tip: If you want to keep the thread in Requiring Action for all members of the 'Referrals' user group, each user must check off the "Keep as Requiring Action" box whenever replying to the message thread.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I address a reminder before the Post Date?

Yes, reminders can be addressed at any time. The message will be in the Outstanding Items section of the patient's chart until the Post Date arrives and anyone can respond to the message or close out the message if the Referral was completed before the Post Date.

The Referrals form has an 'Unread Alert' feature. Can I use that to track Referrals instead?

The 'Unread Alert' feature can be another method for tracking Referrals if the recipient fits the following criteria because the feature requires the recipient to have access to one of Elation's platforms.

• ​​​​​​​The recipient has a  next to their name; signifying they have access to Elation's secure online portal for providers.
• The recipient has a  next to their name; signifying they are an Elation EHR user and will receive the Referral directly in their own EHR.

 

Should I use the same method to track orders?

Elation has a separate built-in tool for tracking orders. Learn more about this tool in the Orders Guide- Following up on outstanding lab, radiology or other orders article.




 

Related Articles

• Letters & Referrals Introduction- Sharing clinical data outside of Elation
• Office Message Feature Guide
• User Groups Guide- Simplifying office messages & expanded calendar view
• Elation Patient Passport Guide
• Letters & Referrals Guide- How my colleagues can access shared patient information from my faxes and emails
• Letters & Referrals Guide- Sharing documents with other Elation EHR Users
• Orders Guide- Following up on outstanding lab, radiology or other orders