Referrals overview
Track treatment or evaluation outside your clinic
A referral is a collection of patient information and documents used to track treatment or evaluation requests outside of your location or speciality.
Created by office staff or clinicians
People who may create and manage referrals in your practice include:
- Referral coordinators
- Office administrators
- Clinicians
- Dental students and faculty
Coordinate specialist assessment or treatment
Referrals are useful when:
- A clinician refers a patient to a specialist such as an orthodontist.
- A patient needs further assessment before considering a treatment.
- A clinic lacks the resources to perform a treatment.
- A student does not have the necessary expertise and refers a patient to another provider.
The referral workflow
The referral process starts by creating a referral from the Patient Referrals panel. Office staff or clinicians can create referrals and link relevant forms, attachments, and collaborations.
A new referral starts with a Draft status so you can add all the details you want before sending the referral.
When you send it, the system sends a notification to the providers involved. The receiving provider or clinic can open the referral and updates its status and linked items as they work with the patient.
When the receiving clinic or provider finishes, they can mark the referral as completed and the referring clinic can review it and optionally close or archive it for record-keeping.
To learn more about working with referrals, see: