The Referral Hub in CareStack provides a convenient platform for practices to track their incoming/inbound referrals. Easily accessible from the Front Office Dashboard, the Referral Hub hosts referrals coming in through the Referral Form embedded in your practice website. This offers practices the capability to incorporate the referred patient as a new patient, integrate with an existing patient record, and effortlessly schedule appointments.
Topics Covered
- Access and Manage Referral Hub
- Add Customised Referral Statuses
- Manage Incoming/Inbound Referrals
- Create New Referral - When & How
- Manage Permissions
Note: The Referral Hub feature is available upon request. Users can email support.aus@carestack.com to have it enabled. |
Access and Manage Referral Hub
Watch this video for a step-by-step explanation.
To access the Referral Hub,
Click Ref. Hub (Referral Hub) from the Dashboard.
- To manage referrals, select the Referrals tab.
| Note: If you are unable to see any items listed, ensure that the Filters are not applied on any of the columns. |
Let's look at the columns that can be filtered.
- Referral: The name, age, DOB, and contact number of the patient.
- Location: The location to which the patient was referred.
- Referral Date: The date on which the patient was referred.
- Referral Type: Whether the referral is Internal or External.
- Referred By: Name of the provider who referred the patient.
- Tx Type (Treatment Type): The type of treatment for which they were referred.
- Source: The medium from which the referral form was filled.
- Status: The status in which the referral is currently at.
- Last Engaged: The list of patients who have not received a follow-up in the last (x) days.
- Notes: Additional notes, if any.
| Tip: Enter a specific count of days to filter patients who have not received a follow-up. |
The three-dot menu next to the Accept button will provide you with the following options:
- Add Engagement: Update the recent engagement details.
- Upload Documents: If the documents were not included when the form was initially filled, they can be subsequently appended to the referral from this window.
- Decline Referral: Select this option to reject the referral.
| Note: The declined referrals will be moved to the Declined Tab. |
The Referral forms that get filled out will be automatically listed in the Referrals tab for further action.
You can move the entries listed in the Referrals tab to the Accepted or Declined tabs based on the evaluation of the case.
To communicate with the patient (Referral) or referral provider (Referred By):
- If Office Chat is enabled and the phone number is added for the provider,
- You can click the Office Chat icon to chat.
- If Communication Hub is enabled, and an email/phone number is added,
- You can click the text message icon to send a message.
- You can click the email icon to send an email.
On the Accepted tab:
- You can click View Appointment on a referral line item with a booked appointment to navigate to the corresponding appointment slide-out where you can view more details.
- For referrals where an appointment is not booked, click Book Appointment to navigate to the Scheduler and make the booking as preferred.
- Click the three-dot menu and click Mark as Completed to transfer the referral to the Completed tab.
- Click Send Tx Report to send treatment updates directly to the referring provider for accepted referrals, with a complete history showing sender, location, date, and attached documents.
- Note: You cannot send treatment report once it is marked as completed.
On the Declined tab:
- You can view all rejected referrals.
- The Reason for Decline column shows the reason why the referral was rejected.
- Click the three-dot menu and click Move to Pending Queue to transfer the declined referral back to the Referrals tab.
On the Completed tab, you can view all completed referrals.
- Click the View Referral Documents icon to view the referral documents.
Referral Document
Let's look at the functionalities of the Referral Document.
Click the View Referral Documents icon in the Referrals, Accepted, Declined and Completed tabs to view the relevant documents.
On the Referral Document slide-out:
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Select the Referral Form tab to view the refer-in form.
- Click Download Form to download the form to your system.
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Select the Attachments tab to view the images or documents, if any.
- Click Upload to add documents or images.
- Click the X on the intended item to remove the attached image or document.
- Select the Attachment(s) to View or Print.
| Tip: To print all attachments, select the Select All checkbox. |
- Once you click Print, the attachment(s) will open in a new tab.
You can click Save as PDF to download it as a PDF, or you can print the attachment(s)
| Note: If you Accept a referral that has attachments or if you upload attachments to an Accepted referral, they will appear on the Documents page of the corresponding patient with a Completed status. |
Add Customised Referral Statuses
Watch this video for a comprehensive walkthrough.
To add customised referral statuses:
Click Customize Status on the top right.
The Customize Status modal will appear with non-editable referral statuses for Pending, Accepted, and Declined.
To create a new referral status:
- Click Add New Status.
- You can create up to 10 referral statuses with a character limit of 10 for each.
To edit an existing referral status, click the pencil icon against each status to edit.
Once you click Edit:
- You can set the Colour Code or rename the referral status as needed.
- Click the checkmark to save the changes.
To download the list of Referrals as an Excel sheet:
Click Export as CSV.
Manage Incoming/Inbound Referrals
Dive deep with this detailed walkthrough video.
To view the details of any Incoming/Inbound Referrals:
- Select the intended Referral.
- A slide-out will appear with the Referral Details on the left-hand side, and the Referral Engagement, Provider Chat, and Referral Documents sections on the right-hand side.
- Users have the option to Link Existing Patient or Create Patient & Book Appointment.
- To edit details such as the Patient Name, click Edit.
- Make the required changes.
- Click Save.
To update the status of the referral:
- Select the suitable status from the Referral Status drop-down.
- You can choose a custom-built referral status based on your practice's needs.
To add a new engagement,
- Select the Referral Engagement tab.
- Click + Add Engagement.
On the Add New Engagement modal that appears,
- Select the Contacted date.
- Select the mode of communication (Call, Text, or Email).
- Click Update to add a new engagement.
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The entire progress, along with the newest entry will appear on the Referral Engagement tab.
- You have the option to Add Engagement, make a Call, or send a Text message.
Utilize the Provider Chat section to chat with the provider.
| Note: The Provider Chat will only be available if the Referral Provider has portal access. |
To create the referral as a new patient:
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Click Create Patient & Book Appointment.
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The created patient will be automatically subscribed for:
- Text & Voice, if the phone number is entered.
- Email Notifications, Marketing Emails, Enable Portal Notifications & Review/ Survey Request, if email is entered.
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The created patient will be automatically subscribed for:
A toast notification will appear stating 'Patient Created Successfully'.
You will be taken to the Scheduler to select the slots for the patient's appointment.
The referral will be moved to the Accepted tab.
To link a referral patient to an existing patient:
Click the Link Existing Patient button.
Select the Existing Patient from the drop-down.
| Note: If the patients do not match, you can create a new patient by clicking on the Create Patient & Book Appointment link, upon which the referral will be created as a new patient, and a message will appear on the top-right stating 'Patient Created Successfully'. |
- Once the patient is selected, you can:
- Click Link Patient & Go Back to link the patient and return to the Referral details slide-out.
- Click Accept & Book Appointment.
You will be taken to the Scheduler to select a slot for the patient’s appointment.
The referral will be moved to the Accepted tab.
Create New Referral - When & How
Let's look at another scenario where you receive a referral from other sources like email or PDF or even when a patient comes in with a physical referral form.
Watch this video for a step-by-step explanation.
To manually create a referral entry:
Click Create New Referral on the top right.
- Enter the details in the Create New Referral slide-out.
- Please remember that all the fields marked with red asterisks must be filled out without exception.
If you have selected Referral Provider as the Referral Source, you have the option to Add a New Referral Provider from this slide-out itself.
- Add any Attachments as needed.
- Drag and drop files into the box. Or,
- Click Browse to locate and upload files from your system.
| Tip: You can upload attachments with a file size up to 20 mb. |
- Click Create.
The new referral will be listed under the Referrals tab for practices to track and respond.
Manage Permissions
Watch this video for a quick walkthrough.
To enable permissions for Referral Hub,
- Navigate to the System Menu > select Practice Settings > Administration > Profiles.
- Click Manage Permissions for the intended profile.
- Select Referrals.
- Under Referral Hub, select the View Referrals, Create/Edit Referrals, Customize Referral Statuses, and Send Referral Chat Messages permissions as needed.
- Click Save.
On the Confirm Action modal that appears, click Yes to proceed.
A toast notification appears on the top right stating, 'Profile updated successfully'.
Practices can use this elaborate guide to learn everything about Referral Hub and manage referrals hassle free.