What are eReferrals?
An eReferral is an electronic referral document that can be securely sent from one healthcare service to another using approved secure messaging technology. This replaces traditional methods such as faxing or posting and provides a faster and more reliable way to exchange referral information.The NSW eHealth statewide eReferral solution is designed to improve the referral experience for patients, referrers and clinicians when referring to Local Health District outpatient clinic services. These specialist eReferral forms are delivered through HealthLink. More information about the NSW eReferrals system can be found here.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) has partnered with NSW Health and HealthLink to allow electronic referrals to be submitted directly from general practice medical record systems into ISLHD outpatient services using HealthLink SmartForms. The system is currently available for seven ISLHD speciality services, with more services planned for inclusion over time.
To simplify the referral process, the eReferral solution supports file attachments, the option to save and return to a referral draft at any time, and automated notifications for both referrers and patients about the acceptance and progress of referrals.
Healthlink Smartforms
Healthlink Smartforms e-referral solution is integrated within Medical Director, Best Practice and Genie and streamlines the completion and submission of electronic referrals. Users benefit from capabilities such as pre-population, field validation and consistency checks, conditional visibility, intuitive layout, support for attachments, and ability to save and return to the draft referral at a later time (parking).
From your EMR, you can select a referral form, have it automatically pre-populated with existing data from the electronic patient record, have it validated and sent securely to the intended recipient, and receive an acknowledgement of receipt electronically. A copy of the form will automatically be stored securely in the patient’s record.
Watch the Healthlink Smartforms user tutorials below:
Best practice |
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Medical Director |
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Genie |
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MyHealthLink Portal |
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COORDINARE webinar - ISLHD Outpatient Clinics eReferrals
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Further resources
If you have any questions or would like more information please contact COORDINARE’s Digital Health Team via email at digitalhealth@coordinare.org.au or call 1300 369 002.