Introduction

Transferring a patient from one team to another allows you to move a patient's care between clinical units. CAREFUL provides two options: sending a referral request that the receiving team must accept, or transferring the patient immediately if you're a member of both teams.

Before You Start

You must share at least one team with the patient (the "Refer Patient to Team" option only appears if currentUserHasTeamInCommon is true)
For immediate transfers, you must be a member of both the source team (transferring from) and the target team (transferring to)
The patient cannot already be cared for by the target team
No outstanding referral can exist for this patient to the target team

Steps

Navigate to the Patient

From the sidebar, click My Patients
Find the patient you want to transfer in the patient table
Click on the patient row to open their detail view

Open the Transfer Dialog

In the patient detail view, locate the kebab menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the navigation bar
Click the kebab menu to open the dropdown
Select Refer Patient to Team from the menu

The "Submit Referral request for patient [FIRSTNAME] [LASTNAME]" dialog appears. The patient's last name will be displayed in uppercase.

Complete the Transfer Form

From field: If the patient is on multiple teams, select which team you're transferring from using the dropdown. If the patient is only on one team, this field will be read-only and auto-filled.
To field: Use the dropdown to select the destination team. The dropdown shows all teams in your organisation.
Reason for Referral (optional): Enter clinical notes documenting why the patient is being transferred. The textarea suggests using SBAR format (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) where appropriate. Maximum 500 characters.
Attachments (optional): Upload any relevant clinical documents or images using the file upload component.
Transfer Immediately checkbox: Choose your transfer method:
- Leave unchecked (default): Creates a referral request that the receiving team must manually accept. The patient remains on the source team until the receiving team accepts the referral. Use this when the receiving team needs to review and approve the transfer first.
- Check the box: Immediately transfers the patient and discharges them from the sending team. You automatically take responsibility for the patient. A clinical summary entry is auto-created documenting the transfer. Important: You can only use immediate transfer if you are a member of the target team. If you're not a member, an error will display: "You are not a member of this team. You can only transfer immediately to a team of which you are a member. Deselect 'Transfer Immediately' to send a referral request."
Click Refer to submit the transfer request, or click the X to cancel without submitting

What Happens Next

If you sent a referral request (checkbox unchecked):

The referral appears in the target team's Referrals tab on their team view
The patient remains on the source team
Target team members can accept or reject the referral
The dialog closes and the patient view refreshes to show the pending referral status

If you transferred immediately (checkbox checked):

The patient is immediately added to the target team
You automatically take responsibility for the patient (if you didn't already have it)
The patient is discharged from the source team
A clinical summary entry is auto-created with the title "Transfer from [Source Team] to [Target Team]", including your transfer note and any attachments
The dialog closes and the patient view refreshes to show the patient is now on the target team

Validation and Errors

If you see validation errors displayed in red text below a form field:

Target team errors: The target team must be different from the source team. The patient cannot already be on the target team, and no pending referral can exist to that team.
Immediate transfer errors: If you check "Transfer Immediately" but you're not a member of the target team, you'll see: "You are not a member of this team. You can only transfer immediately to a team of which you are a member. Deselect 'Transfer Immediately' to send a referral request." Uncheck the box to send a referral request instead.
Note length errors: The reason for referral must be 500 characters or fewer

Fields with errors will have a red outline to help you identify which field needs correction.

Tips

Use immediate transfer for urgent moves: If you need to transfer a patient quickly (for example, during ward rounds or for urgent specialty input), use the "Transfer Immediately" checkbox. This is ideal when you have clinical authority to move the patient and are already a member of the receiving team.
Use referral requests for cross-specialty transfers: When transferring to a team you're not a member of, or when the receiving team needs to review the patient before accepting care, leave the "Transfer Immediately" checkbox unchecked. This creates a referral request that the receiving team can assess and accept at their convenience.
Document your clinical reasoning: Always complete the "Reason for Referral" field with clear clinical notes. This helps the receiving team understand the patient's needs and provides a complete audit trail. Consider using SBAR format for complex cases.
Attach relevant documents: If you have recent test results, imaging reports, or other clinical documents that the receiving team will need, upload them as attachments. For immediate transfers, these attachments are automatically included in the auto-created clinical summary entry.
Check for pending referrals: You cannot create a new referral if one already exists for the same patient to the same team. If you need to update an existing referral, contact the receiving team directly or cancel the existing referral first.

How to Transfer a Patient from One Team to Another

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