Referring at the end of a long day
A vet decides a patient needs a specialist. The owner agrees. Now the referral has to go: a letter explaining the case, clinical history, lab results, imaging, current medication, and the owner's details and insurance. The vet puts it together at the end of the day, copying from several screens and exporting images one by one.
It goes by email. The specialist centre replies asking for the X-rays in a different format, or the missing bloods. Weeks later, the report comes back, to a general inbox, and waits to be attached. The owner comes in for a follow-up and the vet has not seen it.
Why referrals drag
Everything the referral needs is in your practice management system and imaging system, but it has to be pulled out by hand. Each specialist centre has a slightly different form or portal.
Once sent, the referral leaves your view. There is no list of open referrals, and the report coming back is not linked to the patient or the vet.
Imaging is often the slowest part. Radiographs and ultrasound images live in a separate imaging system, and exporting them in a format the specialist centre can open, at a size email will accept, is fiddly. Vets end up sending a handful of images and a note offering more on request.
Updates from the centre during treatment, such as discharge summaries and follow-up recommendations, arrive in the same general inbox and face the same risk of sitting unread.
The cost of slow referrals
| Issue | Effect |
|---|---|
| Vet time compiling | Evenings spent on letters and exports |
| Missing attachments | Delays while the centre asks for more |
| Reports not filed | The referring vet is unaware of findings at follow-up |
| Insurance | Claims delayed while information is gathered |
| No overview | Nobody knows how many patients are out on referral |
The decision to refer, and the clinical content of the letter, are for the vet. We assemble and track.
A referral pack and tracker
- A referral form started from the patient record, with owner, patient, insurer and practice details already filled in.
- Automatic attachment of the clinical history, lab results and medication for the period the vet chooses, and links or exports of imaging from your imaging system where possible.
- A letter draft laid out in the structure the vet prefers, with the facts already present. The vet writes the clinical summary and question.
- Sending in each centre's preferred format: email, secure link or their portal.
- An open referrals list showing each patient out on referral, where they went and when.
- Report filing. Reports coming back are matched to the patient and the referring vet is notified.
Referrals that go quickly and come back to the right place
The vet opens a referral with most of the pack already assembled, adds their clinical summary and sends it. Centres receive complete referrals and ask fewer follow-up questions. When the report comes back, the referring vet is told and the report is on the record before the owner's next visit.
The open referrals list gives the practice something it rarely has: a view of how many patients are out with specialists, where and for how long. That helps with follow-up planning, and it makes it easy to spot a report that has not come back when it should have.
Owners feel the difference too. Their pet's referral goes the same day the decision is made, and when they return for follow-up, their own vet already knows what the specialist found.
Do your referrals work like this?
- Referral letters are compiled by hand from several screens
- Imaging is exported one file at a time
- Specialist centres often ask for missing information
- Reports come back to a general inbox
- Nobody can list which patients are out on referral