Effective referral management is essential for maintaining strong relationships with referring providers and ensuring continuity of patient care. A structured referral workflow allows your practice to efficiently send and receive referrals, track patient progress, and maintain clear communication between providers.
The Referral Tracker within CareStack provides a centralized system for managing both outgoing and incoming referrals. It allows practices to share referral details, attach clinical documents or images, and communicate directly with referral partners. By standardizing how referrals are managed, your team can ensure that no referral is overlooked and that referring providers remain informed throughout the patient’s treatment journey.
This guide outlines best practices for setting up referral providers, managing referral workflows, and monitoring referral communication within CareStack.
Setting Up Referral Providers
| To Learn More: Add A New Referral Provider |
Referral Provider Creation via Referral Forms
If your practice uses a referral form for incoming referrals, the system can automatically create a referral provider when a new referral form is accepted. This automation ensures that referral providers are captured without requiring manual setup each time.
| To Learn More: Referral Form |
Referral Portal Access
After the referral provider is created, they will receive an email invitation to register for the Referral Portal. Through this portal, providers can view incoming referrals, review patient details, and communicate with your practice.
If the provider has not completed registration, staff can resend the invitation directly from the referral provider profile.
Managing Referral Provider Records
The Referral Providers section also allows your team to monitor and maintain provider details.
Within this view, you can quickly access key details about the provider, including their name, specialty, phone number, email address, and any associated practice locations.
You can also track the provider’s login status, which indicates whether they have accessed the referral portal.
Common statuses displayed in this view may include whether the provider is logged in, not logged in, or inactive, allowing you to quickly understand their current availability or system activity.
On the far right side of the screen, you will see options to view, edit, or deactivate a provider record if changes are needed.
Maintaining accurate provider records ensures referral communication remains reliable
and organized.
| To Learn More: Add A New Referral Provider |
Step 1: Accessing the Referral Tracker
Once referral providers are established, you can begin managing referrals through the Referral Tracker.
Navigate to:
Menu → Operations → Referral Tracker
This will open the CS Growth Referral Tracker, where you will land on the Overview Page.
Referral Status Tabs
The overview page displays referrals organized by status, allowing your team to easily track where each referral is within the process.
Common referral statuses may include Received, Accepted, Scheduled, Completed, Rejected, or Read, allowing users to easily track the progress and current stage of each referral.
These status indicators provide visibility into the referral lifecycle and help staff quickly identify referrals that require follow-up.
Staff can select View Details from the Actions column to access the complete referral record.
Step 2: Reviewing Referral Details and Timeline
Inside the referral details view, staff can access a comprehensive summary of the referral and monitor its progress.
Patient Summary and Attachments
This section displays the referral information that was sent to the receiving provider, including any attached documents, clinical images, or supporting files.
Updating Referral Status
Staff can update the referral status using the dropdown menu. Status updates help track the referral through key stages, and it allows your team visibility into the patient’s treatment progress.
Referral Timeline
One of the most valuable features of the Referral Tracker is the referral timeline, which provides a chronological overview of referral activity.
The timeline shows when the referral was sent, when the provider viewed the referral, when the referral was accepted, the scheduled appointment date, and the expected patient return date.
This information helps practices monitor patient progress and determine when patients should return for continued care.
Step 3: Communicating with Referral Providers
The Referral Tracker also functions as a secure communication portal between providers.
Provider Messaging
On the right side of the referral details page, you will find the communication panel, where staff can send messages directly to the referral provider.
Messages can be used to request additional clinical information, provide treatment updates, coordinate patient scheduling, or clarify referral details, helping streamline communication between referring and receiving providers.
If the referral provider has not logged into the portal to check their messages, they will receive an email notification informing them that a message is waiting.
Sharing Documents and Images
Staff can also attach supporting files to referral communications.
Files can be uploaded by dragging and dropping the file directly into the upload area or by selecting a file from your device, providing a quick and convenient way to attach documents or images.
These attachments allow providers to review imaging, reports, or documentation necessary for the patient’s evaluation.
Step 4: Managing Referral Lists and Filters
The Referral Tracker also includes a Referrals tab where staff can view a list of all referral patients.
This view organizes referral information with patient name on the left, referral details in the center, and communication tools on the right
Staff can sort and filter referrals using several options in the action button, including most recent activity, referral date (ascending or descending), and expected return date
A search bar allows staff to quickly locate referrals by entering the patient’s name. These filtering tools help practices prioritize follow-up actions and manage referral workflows efficiently.
Viewing Referrals Within the Patient Chart
Referrals can also be accessed directly from the patient’s clinical chart.
Navigate to:
Patient Chart → Clinical Tab → Dental Chart → Referrals
From this location, staff can view all incoming and outgoing referrals associated with that patient.
If additional referrals are needed, you can select Refer Out to create a new referral directly from the patient chart.
This integration ensures that referral information remains connected to the patient’s clinical history.
Creating Treatment Reports for Referring Providers
Once treatment has been completed, your practice can send a treatment report back to the referring provider.
From the Patient Chart:
From Referral HUB:
| To learn more about Referral Hub: Referral Hub |
Creating a Treatment Report
Within the referral details section, staff can create a treatment report summarizing the care provided. This report typically includes:
Treatment details
Clinical findings
Provider notes
Creating a Treatment Report
Treatment reports can be:
Saved as a draft
Edited before sending
Deleted if needed
Create New Tx Report
Once finalized, the report is sent to the referring provider, closing the communication loop and ensuring they receive an update on the patient’s treatment outcome.
The Ideal Referral Management Workflow
When your team consistently uses the Referral Tracker, referrals become easier to manage and track across the entire patient journey.
An effective referral workflow allows your practice to:
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By using the Referral Tracker as a centralized communication and tracking tool, your practice strengthens provider relationships, improves coordination of care, and ensures patients receive seamless treatment across providers.