Accepting a patient referral step-by-step

Viewing Inbound Referrals

Log in to ChartRequest, and click Care Coordination at the end of the banner to navigate to the care coordination dashboard. Click the “Referral Management” icon in the toolbar to the left. This will bring you to a view of your outbound and inbound referrals. To see your inbound referrals, click the “Inbound” tab. 

In the inbound view, you will see a list of your referrals. For each referral, you’ll see:

  • Tag
  • Status
  • ID
  • Referring Provider
  • Patient Name
  • Last Updated

The status can list:

  • Referred
  • Viewed
  • Abandoned by Receiving Provider
  • Incomplete
  • Scheduled
  • Loop Closed

You’ll also see a series of filters above the listed referrals:

  • All
  • Referred
  • Viewed
  • Abandoned
  • Scheduled
  • Loop Closed
  • Incomplete 

When you select a filter, it will be highlighted in blue. The number behind each filter indicates the number of referrals you have in that category. You can highlight multiple filters at once, which will show the collective total of the categories in your inbound view. You will see a filtered view of the referrals in your inbox. 

Accepting or Declining a Referral

When you’re in the inbound tab, ensure the “Referred” filter is highlighted. Click a referred item to either decline or accept the referral. To protect the patient’s privacy, the details of the referral remain blurred until accepted. 

If you click “Decline,” you’ll be asked to select either “Not accepting new patients” or “Other” as the reason. If you select “Other,” you’ll be prompted to enter the reason before returning to the inbound view.

Viewing the Details of a Referral

After accepting a referral, you’ll be able to see the details. The patient’s information is on the top left of the screen, and the referring provider’s details and comments are on the top right next to the referral’s status.

Below these sections, you’ll see two tabs: “Schedule Appointment” and “Close the Loop.” If the referring provider included any patient preferences regarding an appointment date and time, they will be listed here.

Communicating with the Referring Provider

Once you’ve accepted a referral, you can send the referring provider a direct message. 

On the bottom right side of the screen, click “Communication & Activity.” A gray field will appear for communication with the provider. Enter your message into the field and click “Send,” and the referring provider will be notified. 

When the referring provider replies, you’ll receive a text or email notification. Log in to the referral and click “Messages” below the patient details. You can also navigate to the “Communication” field to read the referring provider’s response.

Logging Activity on a Referral

Once you’ve accepted the referral, you can log any attempt to schedule an appointment by clicking “Communication & Activity” on the bottom right of the screen. A gray field will appear with two options:

  • Log a call
  • Log an email

All other activity on a referral is logged automatically, including the date, time, and name of the user who performed the activity.

Auditing Activity on a Referral

At any point after accepting a referral, you can review the activity on it. In the inbound view, open the referral you wish to review. On the bottom right, click “Communication & Activity.” A gray field will appear with an area marked “Activity.”

Below, you’ll see a full audit trail of all activities pertaining to this specific referral, along with the date and time for each entry. Below each entry, you’ll also see the name of the user who performed the activity. Scroll up or down to navigate through the list.

Abandoning a Referral

If you’re unable to move forward with a referral after viewing the details, click “Abandon Referral” on the bottom left of the screen. You’ll be asked to provide a reason from the following options:

  • Could not reach the patient
  • Out of network
  • Not accepting new patients
  • Patient preference
  • Services not performed at this practice

When you make your selection, you will be asked to confirm that you want to abandon the request along with your reason. Click “Abandon” to abandon the referral and return to the inbound view.

Marking a Referral as Incomplete

If you need more information from the referring provider before scheduling an appointment with the patient, you can mark the referral incomplete by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking “Mark as Incomplete.”

You’ll be prompted to state a reason for marking the referral as incomplete; select “Patient Name Missing” or “Other.”

If you select “Patient Name Missing,” a dialogue will appear for confirmation. If you select “Other,” you’ll need to enter your reason for marking the referral incomplete. Next, click “Mark as Incomplete” to complete the action and return to the inbound view. The referring provider will be notified that they must add the necessary information to complete the referral request.

Scheduling an Appointment

To schedule an appointment with the referred patient, use the patient’s phone number or email address listed below the patient’s name and date of birth. Referrals may list up to three of the patient’s appointment preferences to help you schedule an appointment at a convenient time.

When you’ve confirmed an appointment with the patient, enter the date in the format MM/DD/YYYY, and enter the time in the format HH/MM. Click the clock icon to the right of the time entry, and click “Confirm.”

Closing the Loop

The “Close the Loop” tab will be highlighted when you open a referral after scheduling an appointment with the patient. On the right side of the screen, you can see the details of the referral appointment in the format Day, MM/DD/YYYY at HH:MM.

On the left side of the screen, you can click any files from the referring provider to download them according to your browser preferences.

After the appointment, you can upload any records you’d like to share with the referring provider. Drag and drop files to upload them, or click “Browse” to upload them from your computer or cloud.

The three types of records you can share are:

  • Medical records
  • Imaging records
  • Billing records

These files can have the following extensions:

  • PDF: .pdf
  • Sheet: .csv, .xls, or .xlsx
  • Image: .png, .jpg, .tiff, or .bmp
  • Media: .mov, .avi, or .mov
  • Doc: .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .txt

If you want to share any additional information with the referring provider, you can enter your message into the notes field.

Click “Close the Loop” once you’ve shared any relevant information. You’ll see a dialogue advising you that you can’t edit the referral after confirming. Click “Cancel” to return to the previous screen, or click “Close the Loop” to confirm and return to the inbound view of your dashboard.

Once you confirm, the referring provider will receive a notification that you’ve closed the loop, and they’ll be notified of any records and/or messages you’ve shared with them.