The sending or recommending of a person to a specialist for further diagnosis and treatment. Applicable to persons with a psychological, sociological, or biological malady.
The practice of sending a patient to another practitioner or to another program for services or consultation which the referring source is not prepared or qualified to provide. In contrast to referral for consultation, referral for services involves a delegation of responsibility for patient care to another practitioner or program, and the referring source may or may not follow up to ensure that services are received.
The act of sending someone to a specialist.
The sending of a patient by one physician (the referring physician) to another physician (or some other resource) either for consultation or for care. Specialist care (secondary care) is ordinarily on referral from a primary care physician or another specialist. Care of the patient is given back to the referring physician if the referral was for consultation or where the specialist has completed the care required; otherwise the patient is transferred to the specialist, who takes over responsibility for the patient. For example, if a primary care physician refers a patient suspected of having appendicitis to a surgeon (and the surgeon also diagnoses appendicitis), the surgeon customarily performs the appendectomy and returns the patient to the referring physician afterward. However, if a general internist refers a problem diabetic patient to an endocrinologist (specialist in diabetes and other endocrine diseases), the referral might result in the permanent transfer of the patient.
The practice of sending a patient to another practitioner or specialty program for consultation or service. Such a practice involves a delegation of responsibility for patient care, which should be followed up to ensure satisfactory care.