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Patients can be referred to another medical clinic by request. In medicine, referral is the transfer of care for a patient from one clinician or clinic to another by request. [1] [2] Tertiary care is usually done by referral from primary or secondary medical care personnel.
Doctors have opposed Bupa's open referral system, arguing that the system reduces patient choice. [7] Patients that have previously received treatment from a particular consultant may not be able to use them again if they don't appear on the approved list after moving to a product that uses Open Referral.
Patient choice is a concept introduced into the NHS in England. Most patients are supposed to be able to choose the clinician whom they want to provide them with healthcare and that money to pay for the service should follow their choice. Before the advent of the internal market, in principle, a GP could refer a patient to any specialist in the UK.
In other countries patient self-referral to a medical specialist for secondary care is rare as prior referral from another physician (either a primary care physician or another specialist) is considered necessary, regardless of whether the funding is from private insurance schemes or national health insurance. [citation needed]
A typical assessment and treatment space for patients in an ambulatory care clinic. Sites where ambulatory care can be delivered include: Doctor's surgeries/Doctor's offices/General medical practice: This is the most common site for the delivery of ambulatory care in many countries, and usually consists of a physician's visit.
Patients enter inpatient care mainly from previous ambulatory care such as referral from a family doctor, or through emergency medicine departments. The patient formally becomes an "inpatient" at the writing of an admission note. Likewise, it is formally ended by writing a discharge note.
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A 2007 study found that a patient being cared for by a physician who practiced self-referral for imaging studies was 1.196 to 3.228 times more likely to have an imaging study done as compared to a patient being cared for by a physician who did not practice self-referral. [4]