Referral follow-ups

A follow-up belongs to one referral. It records when the next action is due, when it was completed and what happened. This gives the Clinician and coordinator a practical way to find outstanding follow-up work without treating every pending contact as a new referral. The original referral retains its patient link and lifecycle status; the follow-up holds the dated evidence about a later contact or check.

The due date and completion date answer different questions. The first tells the team when to act. The second shows when the action was actually finished. The outcome should say enough for the next person to understand whether more work is needed. A completed date without an understandable outcome makes the handoff harder to trust.

• Attach. The Clinician chooses the referral after checking their privilege and patient assignment, then records a due date for the next check.
• Work. The Clinician checks the referred care and writes the actual outcome on the linked follow-up.
• Review. The Care Operations Manager reads open due items alongside the referral’s current status before deciding what needs escalation.

Set a clear convention for the outcome text. Staff should be able to distinguish an appointment confirmed, an unanswered contact and a clinical review that needs another step. Agree who may mark a follow-up completed and who checks due items when the coordinator is away. A due date is a work prompt; it does not change the referral’s status by itself.

Choose how external contact will happen. Phone, messaging and provider communication remain team practices or separately configured connections. The follow-up record can hold the result, but the team must decide how the contact is made and documented. Review access alongside patient assignments because the outcome can refer to an individual’s care.

Take a Reviewed specialty referral for a patient whose appointment is being arranged. The Clinician creates a follow-up due Tuesday to confirm a visit date. On Tuesday, the Clinician records the completion date and an outcome such as the agreed appointment date. The referral can then move to Scheduled when that state matches the work done. If contact fails, the follow-up remains a useful record of the attempt while the team sets the next action.

For a second case, let the due date pass and leave completion empty. The manager should see that item in the due list and open the linked referral before assigning the next contact. The reviewer should not treat an empty completion field as proof that the visit did or did not happen.

• Open Referral Follow Ups — Due follow-up records awaiting completion, with their linked referrals.
• Referrals Awaiting Review — Received referrals whose review may determine the next contact.

Follow referral receipt to closure and review care coordination.