Adding incoming referrals

For WACHS, use the Incoming Referral Details window to add incoming referrals from the referral hub to the relevant patient record for patients who have a Communicare record.

Note: This functionality is available only to the Western Australian Country Health Service. In Communicare offline mode, incoming referrals are listed in the Clinical Record, but you cannot modify them.

You can also modify incoming referrals.

To add an incoming referral to Communicare, either:
  • In the main menu, select Referrals > Add Incoming Referral.
  • From the Manage Incoming Referrals window, click Add.
To add an incoming referral:
  1. Select Referrals > Add Incoming Referral.
    If you can't see this menu, ask your Communicare Administrator to add the Referral Management system right to your user group.
  2. In the Search window, enter some search conditions, such as a name, and select the patient to whom the referral refers.
  3. In the Incoming Referral window, check the patients details and history if required:
    • If your user group has the Biographics system right, to check the patient's biographics, click Biographics.
    • To view a list of all incoming referrals recorded for the selected patient, click Referral History. By default, the list shows incoming referrals recorded in the last year. Use the date filter to view incoming referrals for a specific date range.
  4. From the Appointment Payment list, select a payment category for appointments associated with the payment.
  5. In the Attachments pane, if applicable, attach a document. Attached documents are listed in the Attachments table and in the Clinical Record, Documents. Attached documents cannot be changed, but can be removed from the list.
    Note: Removing a document from the referral list does not remove it from the Clinical Record.
    1. If you have an electronic copy of a document in PDF format, click Attach FIle iconAttach File and select the document.
    2. If you have a a hardcopy of a document, click Scan and Attach FIle iconScan and Attach File and scan the file. Your user group must have the Document Scanning system right to use this function.
    3. When the document is displayed in the document window:
      1. From the Date calendar, select the date of the referral.
      2. From the To list, select a clinician if applicable.
      3. If you are a clinician and are simultaneously reviewing the document, set Reviewed and check the Reviewed by and at date, and add a comment to the Comment field.
      4. If you want to restrict who can view the document, from the Viewing Right list, select a viewing group.
      5. If you want to categorise the referral by topic, from the Topic list, select a topic.
      6. If you want to categorise the referral by program, from the Program list, select a program.
      7. Click Save.
    4. To view a detailed list of all attachments, click Attach DocumentsAttached Documents.
  6. In the Referral Details pane, add details of the referral:
    1. In the Date Referred field, add the date that the referral was written.
    2. If the patient is being referred again, set Re-referral.
    3. In the Validity Period field, enter how long the referral is valid for in months, weeks or days. For example, 90 days. The date that the referral is valid until is calculated and displayed in the Until field.
    4. In the Received Date field, enter the date that the referral was acknowledged as received by your health service.
    5. If applicable, add escort information and any comments, and from the Transport Mode list, select a transport mode.
  7. In the Referrer pane, add referrer information:
    1. From the Source list, select the source of the referral.
    2. In the Name field, enter the name of the referrer.
    3. In the Address field, enter the address of the referrer, or click the ellipsis and select the address from your address book.
  8. In the Referred To pane, enter information about your organisation:
    1. From the Encounter Place list, click the ellipsis and select your organisation from the list all encounter places, including service encounter and administrative encounter places.
    2. From the Clinic Category list, select a clinic category.
  9. In the Status pane, check the status. By default, for all new incoming referrals, the status is set to Waiting and the field is disabled until it is saved for the first time.
    • For any change made to the status, record a reason for the change. Reasons are logged in the Status History window.
    • The following business rules apply when changing the status:
      • Waiting referrals can be Cancelled, Rejected or Closed
      • Active referrals can be Closed
      • Cancelled, Rejected or Closed referrals can be reinstated. When a referral is reinstated, Communicare automatically changes the status to either Waiting or Active, depending on what the previous status was, and the Status History is updated.
  10. In the Additional Factors pane, set any additional factors pertinent to the referral.
  11. In the Appointment Factors pane, set any additional factors that might affect appointment schedule.
  12. If the referral cannot be prioritised, or an appointment cannot be booked for a prioritised referral, in the Pending Reason pane, set Referral Pending. If a referral is set as pending, also enter the following information:
    1. From the Pending Reason list, select a reason why the referral can't be actioned.
    2. In the Pending Due By field, enter a date by which the pending referral should be resolved.
    3. In the Pending Comment field, add any other relevant information.
  13. In the Prioritisation pane, enter priority information:
    1. If required, from the Presenting Issue list, select an item that applies to this referral from the ICPC-2 PLUS list.
    2. From the Reason for Referral list, select a reason.
    3. From the Priority list, select a priority. By default, for all new incoming referrals the priority is set to Awaiting Triage.
    4. If required in the Appointment Due By and Length of Appointment lists, select a value. This is for information only, and has no relation to the Appointments Book.
  14. In the Additional Issues pane, click Add and record any other issues that relate to the same speciality as the referral. Each issue added is assigned a number and can be marked as completed when resolved. Add, mark as complete and delete issues as required.
  15. If the referral has been prioritised and has a status of Waiting or Active, in the Appointments pane, book an appointment. Click Appointment Book iconAppointment Book to open the appointment book and add an appointment for your organisation. See Appointment Book for more information.
    Tip: To view all appointments for the patient, including those not related to the referral, click Service List iconService List.
  16. Click Save and Close.

Communicare assigns a unique referral number which is displayed after a referral is saved for the first time.

After a referral is saved, it is listed in the patient's Clinical Record, in the:
  • Progress Notes > To Do list with a prefix of <Incoming Referral>
  • Detail tab list with a prefix of <Incoming Referral>
  • Manage Incoming Referrals window