Abstract: Electronic referral systems have improved referral tracking to specialist providers, but organizations continue to face barriers when tracking referrals outside of their health system, especially to providers utilizing different EHRs. We created a web-based electronic referral system that allows providers to enter and track referrals independently of their EHR. The network includes 75 sending practices and 270 receiving practices tracking 79,132 referrals a year.

Describe the new knowledge and additional skills the participant will gain after attending your presentation.: By attending this session, the audience members will be able to define common problems with referral management and tracking in health care; explain why referrals – like other transitions-of-care – should be protocolized with measurable, status-driven workflows; list the benefits of an electronic referral system for managing, tracking, and completing referrals; and describe a conceptual framework for an EHR-independent electronic referral system.

Authors:

Eric Reynolds (Presenter)
University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine

Melissa Van Cain, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine
Juell Homco, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine
Blake Lesselroth, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine
David Kendrick, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine