Central Referral Service (CRS)
CRS provides a coordinated and sustainable model for outpatient referral management across the WA public health system. The CRS was established to better manage external referrals for patients requiring a first specialist outpatient appointment within the WA public health system.
CRS is not suitable for all patients. Before submitting a referral to CRS, check if the outpatient specialty, service and region is in scope and read the step-by-step guide to submitting referrals through CRS.
In-scope referrers, referral types, specialties, locations, and services
| Send referrals through CRS |
| Referrers |
- External referrers, including general practitioners, nurse practitioners, doctors from WACHS public hospitals referring into metropolitan outpatient services, and private specialists referring into public specialist outpatient services.
|
| Referral type |
- Referrals for a first specialist outpatient appointment provided at clinics within, or part of, in scope public hospital services.
|
| Metropolitan specialty |
- Anaesthetics (allergy only)
- Adolescence Medicine
- Bariatric Surgery
- Burns (post injury issues only)
- Breast Surgery
- Cardiology
- Cardiothoracic
- Dermatology
- Direct Access Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
- Ear, Nose and Throat
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- General Medicine
- General Surgery
- Genetics
- Gerontology
- Gynaecology
- Haematology
- Hepatobiliary
- Hyperbaric Medicine
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
|
- Interventional Neuroradiology (NIISWA)
- Medical Oncology
- Neonatal
- Neurology
- Nephrology
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Oral Maxillofacial Surgery
- Orthopaedics
- Paediatrics
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Plastic Surgery
- Radiation Oncology
- Rehabilitation
- Renal
- Respiratory Medicine
- Rheumatology
- Spinal Surgery
- Urology
- Vascular
|
| Regional specialty |
South West
- Gerontology
- Haematology
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Paediatrics
Collie Health Service
- Direct Access Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
- General Surgery
- Gynaecology
|
Out of scope referrers, referral types, specialities, locations, and services
| Do not send referrals through CRS |
| Referrers |
- Allied health and mental health professionals
- Internal referrers (e.g. hospital-based clinicians)
- Patients cannot submit referrals. Referrals must be sent by an in-scope referrer.
|
| Referral type |
- Immediate referrals (require review within 7 days)
- Internal referrals (e.g. referrals generated from a specialist within a public hospital to public outpatient services)
- Named referrals
- Referrals for non-medical led outpatient services
- Referrals for a community-based health service
- Referrals to a private specialist
|
| Specialty/services |
- Non-medical led outpatient services (e.g. allied health, nursing, pharmacy)
- Antenatal
- Obstetrics
- Mental health services
- All regional outpatient services not specified above as ‘in scope’.
- Note: regional sites will be progressively added to scope in a staged approach.
|
Last reviewed: 18-03-2024
Produced by
System Clinical Support and Innovation Unit