About the service
Far West Local Health District (FWLHD) has partnered with eHealth NSW and HealthLin to enable electronic referrals (eReferrals) to be sent to select FWLHD outpatient services. An eReferral is an electronic document that can be sent electronically from one health care service to another, designed to be more sustainable than the current process of faxing, emailing or posting referrals.
The electronic referral management system has been designed and built in a collaboration between FWLHD, eHealth NSW, the Ministry of Health and representatives from across the state.
What this means for patients
There will be no change to how patients engage with their General Practitioner (GP) during their consult. If a referral is needed to make sure you receive appropriate care, your GP will send a referral to our Clinics and Services. The only difference is how the referral is sent and how you might receive communication about your referral. If you have concerns or questions, talk to your GP or you can phone our clinics on (08) 8080 1421.
Information for GP Clinics
A new, NSW Statewide Digital Referral Management Solution is being introduced to improve the referral experience of patients, referrers and clinicians in outpatient services.
The below information is targeted at GP Clinics and Practitioners to support education about Electronic Referral Management at Far West Local Health District.
If you are GP or Practitioner who needs to urgently contact our clinics about a referral, please contact the Outpatient Administration Team on (08) 8080 1421.
Context
Far West Local Health District (FWLHD) has partnered with eHealth NSW and HealthLink to enable electronic referrals (eReferrals) to be sent to select FWLHD outpatient services. An eReferral is an electronic document that can be sent electronically from one health care service to another, designed to be more sustainable than the current process of faxing, emailing or posting referrals.
The electronic referral management system has been designed and built in a collaboration between FWLHD, eHealth NSW, the Ministry of Health and representatives from across the state.
HealthLink eReferrals
HealthLink eReferrals will allow primary care general practitioners, specialists, nurses and allied health professionals to efficiently send secure eReferrals to clinics across the Far West Local Health District. They are designed to enhance the triage and health management of a patient’s journey, improve patient safety, and reduce specialist outpatient wait times.
Users can benefit from capabilities such as pre-population, field validation and consistency checks, conditional visibility, intuitive layout, track referrals, and the ability to save and return to the draft referral later.
FWLHD services with access to HealthLink eReferral
From 8 May 2024, the following FWLHD services will receive patient referrals via HealthLink eReferral from:
| Cardiology clinic | Ophthalmology Clinic | Orthopaedic Clinic |
| Echo Clinic | Gynaecology clinic | Physician Clinic |
| Stress Test Clinic | Endocrinology Clinic | Wound care clinic |
| Gastroenterology Clinic | Dermatology Clinic | Geriatric Clinic |
| DAC Nurse Led clinic | Ears, Nose and Throat Clinic | Renal Clinic |
| Oncology Clinic | General surgery Clinic | Rheumatology Clinic |
| Radiation Oncology Clinic | Haematology Clinic | Urology Clinic |
Accessing HealthPathways
A password is required to access HealthPathways. If you don’t have the login details, contact our HealthPathways Coordinator on 0428 361 223 or email marianne.dege@wnswphn.org.au.
FWLHD eReferrals expansion
Expansion of the electronic referral solution to more FWLHD services will follow.
If the clinic you wish to refer your patient to is not currently taking eReferrals, consult the appropriate HealthPathways referral page for information about currently available referral processes.
- Phone: (08) 8080 1421
Setting up HealthLink in your practice
HealthLink eReferrals can be integrated within the following software programs:
- Best Practice
- Genie
- Medical Director
- Medtech Evolution
- Shexie Platinum
- Zedmed.
Users of these software can select a form, automatically pre-populate data from the electronic patient record, have it validated, send it securely to the intended recipient and receive a receipt electronically. A copy of the form will also be automatically stored securely in the patient’s record.
Practices using these systems can integrate HealthLink for free. Alternatively, you can use MyHealthLink Portal (PDF 1.54MB).
Registration
If you do not have a HealthLink Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) account, please complete the HealthLink Service Application Form.
HealthLink help and support
For HealthLink queries or technical support, contact HealthLink Help and Support via:
HealthLink tutorials and user guides
HealthLink has provided video tutorials and user guides to help practice staff integrate HealthLink with their practice management system. These resources can be found on the HealthLink website.
Frequently asked questions
Why should I use eReferrals instead of fax?
eReferrals were introduced in response to GP feedback that the existing referral processes were too time consuming. In particular, fax referrals take longer to process, which results in patients waiting longer to be referred for assessment. eReferrals are integrated with existing practice management systems and pre-populate available patient data.
To send an eReferral, simply check the patient details, enter information about their needs and add any necessary attachments to support an assessment. This makes eReferrals the quickest and easiest way to refer patients to FWLHD services.
Why did FWLHD introduce GP eReferrals?
The introduction of eReferrals was established as a state-wide project through eHealth NSW to improve the quality and safety of referral processes, ease of use, avoid wastage and minimise patient delay in accessing ambulatory care services.
For Far West Local Health District, eReferrals aims to play a role in transforming a patient’s transition from primary to secondary care by enabling referrals to be securely sent, reducing the reliance on legacy communication systems including fax.
General practitioners now receive a notification when the referral has been received by the FWLHD service, which gives them and their patients peace of mind, and reduces time with referrers no longer having to follow up or generate multiple referrals.
How do I find out which practice management system version my practice has?
HealthLink eReferrals are available on:
- Best Practice Lava SP3 and above
- Genie v8.8 and above
- MedicalDirector 3.16 and above
- Medtech Evolution 10.4.4 and above
- Shexie Platinum
- Zedmed.
These practice management systems make up more than 80% of the general practice management system market in Australia.
For more information, refer to HealthLink's SmartForm Readiness Cheat Sheet (DOCX 319.48KB).
How can I send an eReferral without a practice management system?
You can send and receive eReferrals without a practice management system through MyHealthLink Portal.
MyHealthLink Portal is an online portal that enables smaller medical practices and individual health care providers to submit via a web browser.
MyHealthLink Portal is protected by digital certificates and advanced HealthLink security and backed by expert technical support from HealthLink.
You can watch a tutorial video to learn about how My HealthLink Portal works.
What should I do if my patient requires an urgent referral?
If the patient is in a critical condition and requires urgent emergency medical care, call an ambulance and refer to the local hospital emergency department.
If the patient is stable but warrants urgent assessment, please visit the FWLHD HealthPathways website platform to locate health service contact details and make an urgent referral. In most instances, it is recommended to call the service before sending the referral.
To find a service for urgent situations on Far West HealthPathways:
- use the search bar at the top and enter ‘Urgent’
- review the list of referral pages and select the relevant specialty
- open the relevant drop-down lists to view the contact details and further advice on how to refer a patient urgently
A password is required to access HealthPathways. If you don’t have the login details, please contact our HealthPathways Coordinator on 0428 361 223 or emails marianne.dege@wnswphn.org.au
HealthLink eReferrals also contains an option to select ‘Urgent’.
How do i know an eReferral submission has been successful?
If your submission has been successful, you will receive a notification at the top of the form confirming it has been sent.
What if I send an eReferral and it fails to submit?
If your submission is unsuccessful, an error message will appear. In this case, please either:
- call the HealthLink help desk on 1800 125 036
- complete the online Contact Support form
- email helpdesk@healthlink.net
If it does fail, the information you already entered should be saved. To check for any outstanding referrals, you can access ‘parked’ forms and resume them.
I have submitted an eReferral for my patient, where can I find a copy of the referral in my system?
All practice management systems store eReferrals in an inbox or folder that you can refer back to.
How is patient information protected when I send a FWLHD eReferral?
The FWLHD eReferrals use end-to-end encryption to ensure privacy and security. Personal information and documents are retained securely within the FWLHD system.
By default, the form will load the minimum information required by FWLHD to create a record so that an assessment can be organised.
If I delegate the referral task to a practise nurse, will they be able to send the eReferral?
Anyone who currently has access to your practice management system will be able to access FWLHD eReferrals. Depending on how your practice management system is configured, it may be possible for practice nurses to submit an eReferral.
For more information about HealthLink and eReferrals, visit the FWLHD website or Engage Outpatients – Outpatient Referral Management.
Feedback
If you have any feedback or suggestions about eReferrals, contact:
- Online form: eReferral feedback form
- Phone: (08) 8080 1421
- Email: FWLHD-Feedback@health.nsw.gov.au.