Using Referral Orders in EHR 24/7
Referral Orders allow you to document, track, and manage patient referrals directly within the patient chart. If you need to create inbound or outbound referral orders in Office Ally’s EHR 24/7, follow the steps below.
Before We Begin
Before creating a referral order, ensure you are logged into EHR 24/7 and have accessed the correct patient chart. Provider and referring provider records should already be set up under the Manage Office tab for quick selection. Click this link to learn how to add a referring provider: Adding a Referring Provider in Practice Mate and EHR 24/7.
Steps to Create a Referral Order
- Navigate to the Patient Chart
- Open the patient’s chart.
- Hover over Orders in the top menu.
- Select Add New Referral Order under the Referral Order List from the drop-down menu.
- The Add Referral Order pop-up window will appear.
- Complete Payer Information
- The Insurance Co ID and Insurance Name will auto-populate if the information is stored in Patient Demographics.
- From the Request Priority drop-down, select one of the following:
- Urgent, within 1 week
- Immediate, 24 hours
- Routine, 2–4 weeks
- When available
- From the Service Request drop-down, select:
- Consultation
- Diagnosis
- Testing
- Therapy
- Procedure
- Enter the Reason for Referral.
- Enter Notes (optional).
- Complete Provider Information
- Select the referring Provider from the drop-down menu.
- The Referral Date will default to the current date but can be edited if needed.
- From the Type of Referral drop-down, select:
- Outbound (Patient referred to another Physician)
- Inbound (Patient referred from another Physician)
- Enter the Referral Description.
- Transition of Care Section
- Click Generate or Export as needed.
- Use the checkbox to mark Confirmed receipt of Transition of Care from receiving end, if applicable.
- Review Patient and Subscriber Information
- The Patient Information section will auto-populate if stored in Patient Demographics.
- The Subscriber Information section will also auto-populate based on patient insurance data.
- Referring or Referral to Provider Information
- Select Individual or Group from the Entity drop-down.
- Click the ellipsis (…) next to Provider ID to search and select a provider from your Referring Provider list (configured under Manage Office).
- Provider details such as name, address, phone, fax, NPI, PIN, and specialty will auto-populate.
- These fields may also be entered manually if needed.
- Add Diagnosis Codes
- Select up to 10 diagnosis codes.
- Use the first ellipsis to search your User Defined list.
- Use the second ellipsis to search the System Defined list.
- Add CPT Service Codes
- In the CPT Service section, enter up to 8 CPT codes.
- Enter From DOS, To DOS, and Quantity for each code.
- Complete Additional Information (Optional)
- In the More Info section, you may enter:
- Authorization Number
- Expiration Date
- Number of Visits
- Patient Seen by Another Specialist (checkbox)
- Correspondence Received Date
- Additional Comments
- Save the Referral Order
- Click Update to save the referral order.
Inbound Referral-Specific Options
If Inbound is selected as the Type of Referral, additional checkboxes will appear below the Patient Information section:
- I attached a Transition of Care to the patient’s chart
- I performed clinical reconciliation for this patient
- I requested a Transition of Care, and it was not received
Viewing and Managing Referral Orders
- Hover over Orders in the patient chart.
- Select View Referral Orders under the Referral Order section.
- From this list, you can Edit, Delete, or Print referral orders.
- An Add New Referral Order button is also available in the upper-right corner.
Creating Referral Orders from a Progress Note
Referral Orders can also be created while editing a progress note:
- Ensure the SOAP layout includes the Labs option.
- Scroll to the Lab / Radiology Orders section.
- Hover over Add New Order and select Referral Order.
- The Add Referral Order page will open and function the same as described above.