Secure eReferrals

Can I still fax, email or post referrals?

From Monday 18 July 2022, referrals can no longer be faxed, emailed or posted to Monash Health. Fax technology is unreliable, frequently producing transmission errors and delaying timely access to clinical care. Monash Health is switching from fax to secure electronic delivery to ensure that documents sent to Specialist Consulting arrive. Over the coming months Monash Health is working towards sending documents electronically to referring GPs and specialists.

When did Monash Health Specialist Consulting complete its switch to an all-electronic referral system for receiving referrals?

Monash Health implemented a phased transition to eReferrals for its specialist clinics over two years. Effective Monday 18 July 2022, all referrers including GPs and specialists are required to send referrals by HealthLink.

Why did this change happen?

The introduction of the eReferral system commenced two years ago, and over this time many referrers embraced the system as the most secure, safe and reliable way to send a referral. We put in place the necessary supports to ensure we can assist any GPs who need assistance, and following the lead of other health services elected to complete the transition in July 2022.

Are all Monash Health Specialist Consulting services available by eReferral?

YES. Monash Health has made all Specialist Consulting services available via HealthLink eReferrals.

What will I receive from Monash Health when my eReferral is processed?

Monash Health provides the following information to referrers throughout the referral management process (where appropriate):

Notification of:

• Confirmed receipt of referral, including electronic tracking of referral delivery status
• Rejection of referral as additional information is required and a request to resubmit with all mandatory information for processing
• Confirmation of appointment booked with patient

Which referrers need to use HealthLink SmartForms to refer to Monash Health?

The new policy applies to all clinicians in private practice (e.g. GPs, specialists in private practice, and allied health professionals) who wish to refer to Monash Health Specialist Consulting clinics.

If you are a referrer from another hospital, please contact Monash Health Referrer Hotline on 1300 342 273 (option 6) for instructions on how to refer to Specialist Consulting from your hospital department.

How can I send an eReferral from within my clinical information system?

Medical Director, Best Practice, Genie, MedTech Evolution

Pre-populated Monash Health Smartforms are available for Best Practice, Medical Director and Genie under the HealthLink tab. You can add/remove information as required, including selecting relevant investigations and clinical notes held within your clinical information system. Practices that use Medtech Evolution should contact HealthLink for additional support.

MyHealthLink Portal

Practices that use other clinical information systems can utilise the MyHealthLink portal to submit eReferrals; however, the information will not be pre-populated. The MyHealthLink portal allows you to attach documents (including your usual referral letter) from your desktop and paste notes from your clinical information system.

Can I refer a patient to Monash Health from interstate?

YES. However will need to ask HealthLink to add Monash Health to your practice’s list of Referred Services. Please call HealthLink Helpdesk on 1800 125 036.

Where can I find more information?

You will find resources to support your move to HealthLink on the secure eReferrals page on the Monash Health website. https://monashhealth.org/health-professionals/referrals/gp-ereferrals/

If you have any difficulties using the HealthLink Smartforms at your practice, please contact HealthLink Technical Support on 1800 125 036 or helpdesk@healthlink.net

For questions about your eReferral once submitted to Monash Health, please contact Monash Health Specialist Consulting on 1300 342 273 (option 6) or outpatient_enquiries@monashhealth.org

GPs can also seek the support of their local Primary Health Network:

• South Eastern Melbourne PHN on 1300 331 981
• Eastern Melbourne PHN on (03) 9046 0300.

What is the issue?

Occasionally I-MED Radiology reports produce an error when attaching to HealthLink SmartForms from the patient record. This may result in several pages of the report being illegible, or the report not being attached at all. If this occurs, Monash Health is unable to accept the referral.

Who is affected?

Referrers who use Medical Director or Best Practice software may be affected by this issue only when attaching an I-MED Radiology report.

What is being done about it?

HealthLink and I-MED Radiology’s secure electronic reporting service Pro Medicus are investigating this issue to produce a solution. However while these software providers are troubleshooting the issue, referrers need to check before submitting a referral containing an I-MED Radiology report attachment.

What is the best format to attach an I-MED Radiology report to a HealthLink SmartForm?

Monash Health has reviewed a number of GP referrals containing I-MED Radiology report attachments and concluded that the most reliable format to select in the Attachments/Reports screen is pdf.

What can I do to ensure a patient’s I-MED Radiology report is successfully attached to a HealthLink eReferral form?

Step 1: Select the relevant HealthLink eReferral form from the Monash Health service list

Step 2: Click on the Attachments/Reports tab on the left of the screen

Step 3: locate the I-MED Radiology report you wish to attach to the referral

Step 4: check the file type of the I-MED Radiology report to be attached.

The file type is listed next to the file name of the document in the Attachments/Reports screen. I-MED Radiology reports are usually found in rtf, html or pdf.

Step 5: Check whether the I-MED Radiology report is appearing once or twice in the Attachments/Reports screen.

Step 6: Click the computer icon at the end of the line entry to check whether the I-MED Radiology report is legible or not.

The computer icon provides a preview of the underlying document to assist referrers to identify relevant documents to attach to the HealthLink eReferral.

Step 7: Once you have selected the legible version of the I-MED Radiology report, click “Preview” (a button at the top right of the screen next to the “Submit” button). This will give you a preview of the full referral with a list of attachments at the end (usually on page 2 or 3). Note: your preview will show a listing of the attached documents only – it will not render the full view of the attachment.

Step 8: Check which section the I-MED Radiology report appears in:

• Diagnostic Reports / Patient Documents

The report should be okay to attach à  proceed to click SUBMIT

• Relevant files that are not attached to this referral (referrer is sending them separately)

If the report is listed here, please note the report was unable to be attached.

Next steps:

1. Scan the report to the desktop and reattach as a pdf
2. Contact Monash Health Referrer Hotline on1300 342 273 (select Option 6) for more information

IMPORTANT:

If more than one version of the same I-MED Radiology report is listed in the Attachments/Reports screen (i.e. html and pdf), do not select both file types to attach. If pdf is available, select only the pdf option. The reason for this is that html will produce errors, rendering your referral unable to be accepted.

Need more help?

Please do not hesitate to contact our GP referrer hotline on 1300 342 273 (select Option 6) if you have any questions about referring to Monash Health.

Background

Often a GP or specialist may need to provide updated clinical information regarding a patient who is already being treated at Monash Health, or for whom a referral has already been accepted. This information may include recent pathology or imaging reports, specialist reports, or updates on a patient’s condition. These clinical documents can be provided to Monash Health through a HealthLink SmartForm by selecting the option Amended referral/update previously sent referral in the section Referral Continuation.

Step-by-step guide to sending additional information

Step 1: Select the relevant HealthLink eReferral form from the Monash Health service list

Step 2: Switch Referral Continuation (at the top of the form) to Amend previously sent referral

Step 3: Complete the HealthLink SmartForm as usual

Step 4: Make a comment in the Referral details (free text) section regarding the purpose of this referral, i.e. to provide additional pathology, imaging, or other reports

Step 5: Click on the Attachments/Reports tab on the left of the screen

Step 6: Select the relevant results/reports to attach

Step 7: Click “Preview” (a button at the top right of the screen next to the “Submit” button). This will give you a preview of the full referral with a list of attachments at the end (usually on page 2 or 3). Note: your preview will show a listing of the attached documents only – it will not render the full view of the attachment.

Step 8: Check that your updated reports are listed in the section Diagnostic Reports / Patient Documents

Step 9: Click SUBMIT and wait for the Form sent [date/time] notification at the top of the screen

Need more help?

Please contact our GP referrer hotline on 1300 342 273 (select Option 6) if you have any questions about referring to Monash Health.

Background

Referrals to Monash Health Specialist Consulting often require clinical documents to be attached to the HealthLink SmartForm. However, Monash Health is aware that some GPs and specialists referring to Specialist Consulting may experience difficulty attaching large documents or multiple documents, as HealthLink SmartForms have a file attachment limit of 2MB.

If the sum of attachments exceeds the 2MB size limit, the following suggested workarounds can help you successfully submit a referral for your patient.

OPTION 1: Send two referrals
First Referral

• Leave the Referral Continuation(at the top of the form) defaulted to New
• Attach the majority of documents to this referral

• In the section Additional information (the free text box at the bottom of the form) type

REFERRAL 1 OF 2 REFERRALS –

2ND REFERRAL BEING SENT WITH ADDITIONAL PATHOLOGY / IMAGING REPORTS

Second Referral

• Switch the Referral Continuation to Amend previously sent referral
• Attach the remainder of the documents to this referral

• In the section Additional information, type

REFERRAL 2 – ADDITIONAL REPORTS WHICH COULD NOT BE ATTACHED TO REFERRAL 1

OPTION 2: Reduce the resolution of scanned documents to be attached

Text files often do not require high resolutions when scanning/converting to pdf.

Consider scanning the documents to be attached in a lower resolution format.

However, if reducing the resolution, please ensure the files are legible before attaching.

If you need assistance with changing resolution settings, please speak with your practice’s IT support service.

Need more help?

Please contact our GP referrer hotline on 1300 342 273 (select Option 6) if you have any questions about referring to Monash Health.

Referrals from other hospitals (inter-hospital referrals)

If you are referring a patient to Monash Health from another hospital, please contact our Referrer Hotline on 1300 342 273 (option 6) for instructions on how to refer.