How to Transfer a Patient from One Team to Another

Introduction

CAREFUL uses a referral system to transfer patients between teams. You can either send a referral request that requires approval from the receiving team, or perform an immediate transfer if you're a member of both teams. This ensures safe handoff of patient care responsibility.

Before You Start

• You must be a member of the team that currently has the patient (the source team)
• You need to know which team should receive the patient
• The Refer Patient to Team option only appears for patients where you share a team

Steps

To Send a Referral Request:

1. Navigate to the patient's profile page
2. Click the kebab menu (⋮) and select Refer Patient to Team
3. A dialog appears with the title "Submit Referral request for patient [Patient Name]"
4. In the From field, select the source team (or it may be pre-filled if you only belong to one team with this patient)
5. In the To dropdown, select the destination team
6. In the Reason for Referral text area, enter the clinical reason for the transfer
   • The placeholder suggests using SBAR format (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) where appropriate
7. (Optional) Click Attachments to upload relevant files or images
8. Leave the Transfer Immediately? checkbox unchecked to send a referral request
9. Click the Refer button
10. The dialog closes and your referral appears in the "Sent Referrals" table

Receiving Team Action:

11. A member of the receiving team navigates to the Team Referrals view
12. They see your referral in the "Received Referrals" table showing the patient name, source team, your note, and any attachments
13. They click either:
    • Accept (green button with checkmark) - The patient transfers to their team
    • Reject (red button with cross) - The referral is declined

For Immediate Transfer (No Approval Required):

Follow steps 1-7 above, then:

8. Check the Transfer Immediately? checkbox
   • Note the warning: "(This will ACCEPT the referral request and DISCHARGE from sending team)"
9. Click the Refer button
10. The patient is instantly transferred to the destination team and discharged from the source team

Tips

• SBAR Format: When writing your reason for referral, consider using SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) to provide clear clinical context for the receiving team
• Immediate Transfer Restriction: You can only use "Transfer Immediately" if you are a member of both the source and destination teams
• Cancel Sent Referrals: If you need to cancel a pending referral, go to the Team Referrals view and find it in the "Sent Referrals" table. Click the Cancel button (red, with cross icon)
• Attachments: Include relevant clinical documents, images, or test results to help the receiving team make an informed decision
• Check Status: View all your team's sent and received referrals in the Team Referrals view accessible from the main navigation

Related Features

• How to Discharge a Patient from a Team - Remove a patient from team care
• How to Hand Over Patient Responsibility - Transfer responsibility to a colleague within the same team
• How to Manage Team Referrals - View and respond to all referral requests for your teams