Referral Request Guidelines

Medicare rules regarding naming specific specialists on the referral. It is the same as a pathology form for Douglas Hanly Moir however you can choose Laverty pathology for the tests. (pathology = pathology company) Naturally you cannot take the pathology to the imaging company. It’s the same with Specialists, you can take the referral for a General Surgeon to a different General surgeon but cannot take it to an ENT as it’s a different speciality. Referring and requesting Medicare services for health professionals. “Referrals for specialist treatment Patient referrals to a specialist or consultant physician for treatment, not including general practitioners, need to meet certain conditions. The referral must include all of the following:

• relevant clinical information about the patient’s condition for investigation, opinion, treatment and management * the date of the referral.
• the signature of the referring practitioner.Referrals don’t need to be made out to a certain specialist or consultant physician. If you’re referring a patient, you should let them choose where to present the referral. This also applies to electronic referrals.” Referral periods from a GP to a specialist.
  A referral from a general practitioner (GP) to a specialist lasts 12 months, unless noted otherwise. The referral starts from the date the specialist first meets the patient, not the date issued. If a patient needs continuing care, GPs can write a referral beyond 12 months or for an indefinite period. If a patient on an indefinite referral has a new or unrelated condition, the GP must issue a new referral for that condition.”