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Planning this workflow?

The [Referrals Decision Guide](/content/docs/decision-guides/referrals/index.html) walks through requirements questions and FHIR modeling decisions for referrals — use it alongside these docs.

Building out a referral management experience requires composing multiple FHIR resources into a workflow that meets the requirements of both referring and receiving providers. There are three primary interactions that developers should consider when building out a custom referral management solution:

- **Capturing referral requests** from the referring provider
- **Transmitting referrals** to receiving providers
- **Tracking referral status** throughout the workflow

## Referral Overview [​](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#referral-overview "Direct link to Referral Overview"/index.html)

Here is a **sample** of what a referral management experience might look like - to be clear, referral interfaces can look however you want them to. A sample referral application could be built using Medplum [React components](https://storybook.medplum.com/?path=/docs/medplum-introduction--docs).

When capturing referral information, gathering the essential details using a [Questionnaire](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/questionnaire/index.html) is a good first step. This can be used to create a [ServiceRequest](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/servicerequest/index.html) which serves as the core referral resource. You can query all resources related to a given referral from the [ServiceRequest](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/servicerequest/index.html) endpoint.

Depending on your use case, you might need to include different supporting information such as [Conditions](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/condition/index.html), [Observations](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/observation/index.html), or [DocumentReferences](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/documentreference/index.html). [Search](/content/docs/search/index.html) is useful to construct the specific queries that will give the context needed for a complete referral.

React components are available to aid in building a quick referral experience. [QuestionnaireForm](https://storybook.medplum.com/?path=/docs/medplum-questionnaireform--basic), [ResourceTable](https://storybook.medplum.com/?path=/docs/medplum-resourcetable--basic), [Search control](https://storybook.medplum.com/?path=/docs/medplum-searchcontrol--checkboxes), [ResourceAvatar](https://storybook.medplum.com/?path=/docs/medplum-resourceavatar--image), and [Timeline](https://storybook.medplum.com/?path=/docs/medplum-timeline--basic) are potential components that can speed development of the referral management interface.

subject

requester

performer

reasonReference

supportingInfo

focus

about

| ServiceRequest |
| --- |
| Cardiology Referral |

| Patient |
| --- |
| Homer Simpson |

| Practitioner |
| --- |
| Dr. Julius Hibbert |

| Practitioner |
| --- |
| Dr. Nick Riviera |

| Condition |
| --- |
| Chest Pain |

| Observation |
| --- |
| ECG: Abnormal |

| Task |
| --- |
| Referral Tracking |

| Communication |
| --- |
| Referral Document |

### Key Resources [​](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#key-resources "Direct link to Key Resources"/index.html)

| **Resource** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| [`ServiceRequest`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/servicerequest/index.html) | The primary resource for representing a referral. Contains details about the requested service, priority, and supporting information. |
| [`Task`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/task/index.html) | Used to track the status of the referral through its lifecycle (requested, accepted, rejected, in-progress, completed). |
| [`Questionnaire`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/questionnaire/index.html) | Defines structured forms for capturing referral information consistently. |
| [`QuestionnaireResponse`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/questionnaireresponse/index.html) | Contains the completed referral form data that can be processed to create a ServiceRequest. |
| [`Communication`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/communication/index.html) | Represents the transmission of referral information between providers, including attachments and delivery status. |
| [`DocumentReference`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/documentreference/index.html) | Used to attach clinical documents, images, or other files to the referral. |
| [`Condition`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/condition/index.html) | Represents diagnoses that justify the reason for the referral. |
| [`Observation`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/observation/index.html) | Contains clinical measurements or findings that support the referral. |

### Key Code Systems [​](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#key-code-systems "Direct link to Key Code Systems"/index.html)

| **Code System** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| [SNOMED CT](https://www.snomed.org/) | Used in [`ServiceRequest`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/servicerequest/index.html) resources to specify referral types and specialties. |
| [ICD-10](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd10cm_browsertool.htm) | Used in [`Condition`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/condition/index.html) resources to specify diagnoses that justify the referral. |
| [LOINC](https://loinc.org/) | Used in [`Observation`](/content/docs/api/fhir/resources/observation/index.html) resources to specify clinical measurements included in the referral. |

## Reference [​](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#reference "Direct link to Reference"/index.html)

- [FHIR ServiceRequest Resource](https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/servicerequest.html)
- [FHIR Task Resource](https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/task.html)
- [FHIR Communication Resource](https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/communication.html)
- [Medplum Questionnaires Documentation](/content/docs/questionnaires/index.html)
- [Medplum Bots Documentation](/content/docs/bots/index.html)

- [Referral Overview](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#referral-overview/index.html)
  - [Key Resources](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#key-resources/index.html)
  - [Key Code Systems](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#key-code-systems/index.html)
- [Reference](/content/docs/careplans/referrals#reference/index.html)