Central Referral Service

Information for Referrers

Updated: January 2017

Contents

Outpatient Referral Process to WA Public Hospitals

Guide to using the Central Referral Service

Step 1: Decide whether you need to refer via the CRS

Step 2: Download a referral template

OptionA:Downloadtoyourpracticemanagementsoftware

OptionB:Downloadelectronicform

OptionC:Downloadtocompletebyhand

Step 3: For immediate referrals contact the hospital specialist directly

Step 4: Complete the referral

Step 5: Send the referral

Step 6: Acknowledgement receipt

Special Circumstances

Patient attending at a hospital outside their catchment area

Referralsfrom the WACountryHealthService(WACHS)

CRS follow-up

Appendix 1

Appendix 2 - Minimum Standards for Outpatient Referrals

Demographic Data

Additional Demographic Data

Clinical Information

Additional Information

Outpatient Referral Process to WA Public Hospitals

Guide to using the Central Referral Service

Step 1: Decide whether you need to refer via the CRS

TheCRShasbeen setuptoallocate referralsforafirst outpatientappointment withaspecialistataclinicwithinapublicmetropolitanhospital.For alistofthe doctor-ledspecialtiesthatthe CRSacceptsreferrals to please seeAppendix1. Ifyour referralmeetsthesecriteria,pleaserefer using theCRS.

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Step 2: Download a referral template

To begin,you needto downloadeither a GeneralAdult,ObstetricsGynaecologyor Paediatricreferralform. Youcan dothisinone ofthree ways,depending on whichismostconvenientforyou:

OptionA:Downloadtoyourpracticemanagementsoftware

If your practice uses MedicalDirector,BestPractice,Zedmed, medtech32, Genie or Practixsoftwareyoucandownloadthe referral form intothissoftware.This way,your patient’sinformationcanautomaticallybeuploaded tothe referralform. Forfurther instructionsand to download thereferralform,goto:

Oncethereferralform iscompletedelectronicallyit can be sent to CRS via secure messaging preferably/ faxed or posted(seepage8for sending options).

OptionB:Downloadelectronicform

If youdo nothave the above softwareyou canstill fill outthereferralformelectronically.Youcan downloadthe electronicreferralform at:

Once thereferralformiscompletedelectronicallyit must beprintedandsenttothe CRS(seepage8for sendingoptions).

OptionC:Downloadtocompletebyhand

If youwant tocompletethereferralform byhand,youcan downloadaPDFversion and printit.Please note,that wewould prefer the electronicformto avoidproblemswithinterpretinghandwriting. Wewill accept handwrittenforms providing the hand writing is legible. Youcandownload a PDFofthereferralformat:

NB:If youchoose toreferapatient using analternateform,the mandatoryinformationdetailedonpage 7must beincluded. Iftheminimumrequiredinformation isnotincluded,theCRSwillcontact youandrequest that acompletedreferralbeprovided.

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Step 3: For immediate referrals contact the hospital specialist directly

Immediatereferralsrequireyoutocontactthespecialtysenior clinicianor clinicstaff at thenearesttertiaryhospital bytelephone to arrangeanappropriatelytimedpresentation.Youshould completea referral form(following the telephonediscussion),clearlyindicate‘Immediate’andinclude:

  • The name oftheclinicianor clinicalstaffmember youspoke to
  • The hospital
  • The telephone number of the staffmember youspoke to
  • The detailsofanytelephoneclinicaladvice received onthe referral.

Thereferralis tobeforwardeddirectlyto therelevant hospital(usuallybyfaxtothedepartment/clinicas directed) tobeavailable forthe ‘immediate’outpatientappointment.

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Step 4: Complete the referral

To ensurepatientsaredirected tothe mostappropriate levelandplaceofcarein atimelymanner,WAHealth hasminimumstandards for outpatientreferrals.These standardsarereflected inthe fieldsof thereferraltemplate and include the following:

  • Patient’sfull name(oralias),maiden name andwhereappropriate(e.g. fora child) thenameofparentor caregiver
  • Patient’saddress
  • Patient’smobile number andanyalternativenumbers
  • Patient’sdate ofbirth
  • Next ofkin/carer/guardian/localcontactfor paediatricreferrals
  • For achild,themother’ssurname at the timeofbirth,especiallyifchildbornin a publichospital.
  • HospitalUnitMedicalRecordNumber (UMRN) (ifknown)
  • Medicarenumber,referencenumberand expirydate
  • Past healthhistoryincluding detailsofprevioustreatment,investigationsincluding radiology,pathology,procedures andother relevantresults. Copy of reports need to be included with the referral.
  • Presenting symptoms,their duration anddetailsofanyassociated medicalconditionswhichmayaffectthepresenting condition, or itstreatment(e.g.diabetes)
  • Physicalfindings(e.g.haematomaonrightlower leg)
  • Height andweight ORBMI(or percentileifreferring infant/child withweightgain/lossissues)
  • Detailsofcurrentmedications
  • Anyknown allergies
  • Dateofreferral
  • Referrer name and Provider number
  • Referrer Contactdetailsincluding facsimilenumber1
  • Thenameofthespecialtytowhichthepatientisbeing referred
  • GPdiagnosisandurgency,whereappropriate

NB: If the above information is not provided the referral will be returned.

If youare notusing aWAHealthreferral form youmuststillsatisfythese minimumstandards.Anexplanationfor whyeachfieldonthe referralformissignificantcan be foundatAppendix 2.

1Thisis arequirementas afaxnumber isneeded for practitionertoreceiveanacknowledgmentofreferralfromtheCRS

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Step 5: Send the referral

Youcan findthe options for sending thereferral totheCRSlisted onthereferralform.

Theyare:

Ourpreferredmethodforreceivingreferralsis via secure messaging as thispreserves the integrity of the document sent and ensures the referral is legible. Copiesof blood/radiology reports when faxed frequently require resending due to blurring in transmission which creates additional work for both Central Referral Service and GPs reception staff. .Wherenecessary, we willacceptreferralsby fax or post.

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Step 6: Acknowledgement receipt

When theCRSreceivesyour referralyouwill besentan automaticreferralacknowledgementfromCRSbysecure messaging, fax or post (depending on the method your referral was sent). TheCRSwill thenallocateyour referral tothemostappropriate hospital as soon aspossible.

Oncethe hospitalacceptsthereferral,bothyouandyour patientwillreceiveanotificationofwhichhospitalhas acceptedthereferral.You willreceivea secure message or fax;and your patientwillreceiveanSMS message.If thepatientdoesnothavea mobile number,aletter will beposted instead.

Thehospitalwillcontactyourpatient to provide details of the date and time of their appointment closer to the time.

Onceyou havereceivednotification thatthereferralhasbeen accepted byahospital,allfurthercommunication aboutthereferralshouldbedirectedtothatsite.

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Special Circumstances

Patient attending at a hospital outside their catchment area

Patientsmayreceiveoutpatientcare at a hospital that isnot withintheir catchmentarea.Thismayoccurfor avariety ofreasons including thepatient’s need for astate-wideservice, waittimes,andclinical need.

ACRSClinical PriorityAccess Nurse(CPAN)will makethereferral allocation decision to aparticular hospital.Whilst it is preferable for a patient tobeseenat thehospital thatcorrespondstothepatient’s catchmentarea,the CPANmaymake the decisionfor the patienttobeseen outofcatchment.InthosecircumstancestheCPANmaycontact thepatient, referreror hospital specialtyfor further information to facilitate the allocation decision.

Referralsfrom the WACountryHealthService(WACHS)

ReferralsfromWACHSwill beaccepted bytheCRSfromruralGPs, hospital specialists and nurse practitioners fordoctor-led metropolitan services.

CRS follow-up

Somereferrals mayrequirethename of aspecialist onthereferralforbilling purposes e.g. ASI.Ifthisisrelevant toyour referral andyou havenotprovidedaname,theCRSwill contact you.

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Appendix 1

Ambulatory Surgery Initiative

Breast

Cardiology

Cardiothoracic

Craniofacial

Dermatology

Developmental Disabilities

Ear, Nose and Throat

Endocrinology

Epilepsy

Gastroenterology

General Medicine

General Surgery

Genetics

Geriatric Medicine

Gynaecology

Gynaecology Oncology

Haematology

Hepatobiliary

Immunology

Infectious Diseases

Medical Oncology

MultidisciplinaryBurnsClinic

Nephrology

Neurosurgery

Ophthalmology

Orthopaedics

Paediatric Medicine

Paediatric Surgery

Pain Management

Palliative Care

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Radiation Oncology

Respiratory

Respiratory – Cystic Fibrosis

Rheumatology

Sleep Disorders

Spinal

Transplants

Urology

Vascular Surgery

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Appendix 2 - Minimum Standards for Outpatient Referrals

Demographic Data

  • Patient’s full name and maiden name (if applicable)
  • Patient’s contact address and telephone numbers (mobile number is important for SMS)
  • Patient’s date of birth,country of birth, and hospital of birth (for paediatrics)

The above details are required in order to register the patient on WA Health administration systems.

Additional Demographic Data

  • Title (Mr, Mrs, Dr etc.)
  • Gender
  • Indigenous Status
  • Residency
  • Interpreter required /language spoken
  • Medicare number, Sequence Number, Expiry Date
  • GP Practice and location
  • Next of Kin and relationship to patient
  • For a paediatric referral, the mother’s surname at time of birth and at which hospital the child was born
  • Religion

The above details are required for registering a new patient on the Central patient Index (CPI) and the Patient master Index (PMI).

Clinical Information

  • Past medical history including details of previous treatment, investigations including radiology, pathology, procedures and other relevant results.
  • Presenting symptoms, their duration and details of any associated medical conditions which may affect the presenting condition or its treatment (e.g. diabetes).
  • Physical findings (e.g. haematoma on right lower leg)
  • Height, weightorbody mass index (or percentile if referring an infant/child with weight gain or loss issues).
  • Current medications
  • Allergies

The above details enable the CRS to determine the most appropriate hospital for your patient to be seen at and will also assist the hospital staff to triage the referral.

Limited clinical information makes it difficult to ascertain the clinical acuity and priority of the referral. If there is insufficient information to make an allocation decision, or for the hospital to triage the referral, you may be contacted by the CRS.

Additional Information

  • Dateof referral- some referralsare onlyvalidfora period oftimee.g.specialistthree months,GP/NP12 months.CRSprocessesreferralsaccording to datereceived.
  • Detailsof referringpractitionerandprovidernumber- requiredtoensurevalidityofreferralandtoregister practitioner asareferrer ontheWAHealth patientadministrationsystems.
  • Contact detailsof referringpractitionerincludingfacsimilenumber- enablesCRS/Hospitaltocontactpractitioner ifrequired.
  • Thenameofspecialty - soreferral canbe allocatedappropriately
  • GP/Practitionerdiagnosisandurgency- toensure diagnosisand specialtycorrelate.Urgencyensuresthatpatientreferralisappropriatelytriagedat thehospital.
  • HospitalUnit MedicalRecordNumber(UMRN) - ifknown- assistshospital toverify patient and quickly locatepatients’records.

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on request for a person with a disability.

© Department of Health 2017

Copyright to this material is vested in the State of Western Australia unless otherwise indicated. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced or re-used for any purposes whatsoever without written permission of the State of Western Australia.