How to Send a Referral to Another Team

Use the referral feature to request that another team takes over care of a patient. You can either send a referral request (which the receiving team must accept) or transfer the patient immediately if you're a member of both teams. This is commonly used for specialist consultations, ward transfers, or when a patient's care needs change.

Required permissions:

• You must have at least one team in common with the patient
• To transfer immediately, you must be a member of both the source and target teams

What you'll need:

• Clinical context for the referral (SBAR format recommended)
• Any supporting documents or images (optional)

1. From the sidebar, click My Patients (or navigate to a team and select the patient from the Patients tab)

2. Click on the patient you want to refer to open their patient profile

3. Click the kebab menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the patient view

4. Select Refer Patient to Team from the dropdown menu

   Note: If this option isn't visible, you don't have a team in common with the patient

5. The referral dialog opens with the title "Submit Referral request for patient [FirstName] [LASTNAME]"

6. Select the source team (if applicable):

   • If the patient is only in one team you have access to, the From field will display that team name (read-only)
   • If the patient is in multiple teams, use the From dropdown to select which team you're referring from

7. Select the target team (required):

   • Click the To dropdown
   • Select the team you want to refer the patient to
   • You cannot select the same team as the source team

8. Provide the reason for referral:

   • Click in the Reason for Referral text area
   • Type the clinical context for the referral
   • Best practice: Use SBAR format (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) where appropriate

9. Add attachments (optional):

   • Click the file upload area under Attachments
   • Select one or more files from your computer (test results, images, etc.)
   • To remove an attachment, click the remove icon next to it
   • The Refer button will be disabled whilst files are uploading

10. Choose the referral type:

    Option A: Send a referral request (default)

    • Leave the Transfer Immediately? checkbox unchecked
    • The target team will receive a request they can accept or reject
    • The patient remains with your source team until the referral is accepted

    Option B: Transfer immediately

    • Tick the Transfer Immediately? checkbox
    • Warning: "This will ACCEPT the referral request and DISCHARGE from sending team"
    • Requirements: You must be a member of the target team
    • The patient is immediately discharged from the source team and added to the target team
    • You automatically take responsibility for the patient on the target team

11. Click the Refer button to submit

    The button shows a pending state whilst uploading and submitting

12. What happens next:

    If you sent a referral request:

    • The dialog closes
    • Target team members receive a push notification about the referral
    • The referral appears in your Handovers view under the Sent tab
    • Target team members see it in their Handovers view under the Received tab
    • You can cancel the referral from the Sent tab before it's accepted

    If you transferred immediately:

    • The dialog closes
    • The patient is immediately discharged from the source team
    • The patient appears in the target team's patient list
    • You are now responsible for the patient on the target team

• Use SBAR format for your referral reason to ensure clear communication: Situation (what's happening now), Background (relevant history), Assessment (your clinical evaluation), Recommendation (what you think should happen)

• Attach supporting documents like test results, X-rays, or clinical notes to give the receiving team complete context

• Transfer immediately only when appropriate: This option is useful when you're handing over between your own teams or when immediate transfer has been pre-arranged with the receiving team

• Track your referrals: Navigate to Handovers in the sidebar to see all sent and received referrals. Sent referrals show a Cancel button if they haven't been accepted yet

• Common validation errors:

  • If you try to transfer immediately but aren't a member of the target team, you'll see an error below the To field
  • You cannot refer a patient to the same team they're already in
  • Wait for file uploads to complete before submitting