Please note the following feature is in pilot, and your GP practice will be notified when it is due to be rolled out to you.
Use AI Care Navigator to refer matching requests to a partner practice, without anyone at your practice needing to do it by hand.
AI Care Navigator can apply rules to incoming requests. With the Refer to another practice action, a request that matches a rule is referred to a partner practice's inbox as soon as it arrives. This is useful when a partner practice handles a type of request for the group, or covers your practice at certain times.
This article explains how to set up a rule that refers requests, and what happens to a request once the rule applies.
Before You Start
You can only refer requests to practices that are in the same referral group as yours. A Practice group manager sets this up, and the steps are in Setting Up Referral Groups and Out-of-Hours Partners. The partner practice must be a full member of the group, not reporting only.
This feature is switched on by Patchs. To ask about using it at your practice, contact your Account Manager or OneAdvanced Support.
When a request is referred, it becomes read-only at your practice until the partner practice returns it or you ask for it back. To see how the receiving practice handles it, read Referring Requests to Another Practice.
How to Create a Rule that Refers Requests
1. Open AI Care Navigator
Go to Edit practice for your practice and open the AI Care Navigator tab.
2. Add an action and set the rules
Click Add new action. Under 1. Create rules, tick Apply to all requests, or add conditions so the action only applies to the requests you choose, such as a particular request type.
Under 2. Select an action, open the Action list and choose Refer to another practice.
Note: If your practice also uses Adastra, this option is called Refer to another care provider, and the list under Refer to includes both your partner practices and Adastra.
3. Choose the partner practice and inbox
Under Refer to, choose the partner practice. Then, under Send to inbox, choose the inbox at that practice where the referred requests should arrive.
4. Add a note for the receiving practice
You can add a note for the receiving practice, so they know why the request has been referred. The note is optional, and every request this rule refers carries the same note.
If you add a note and your practice's clinical system is connected, you are also asked Save referral note to the clinical system? Choose Yes or No.
5. Save the action
You can set the times the rule applies under 3. Time windows (optional). Then click Add care navigator action to save it. Click Cancel if you want to close the form without saving.
What Happens to Referred Requests
When a request matches the rule, it is referred to the partner practice's inbox. At your practice, the request leaves your normal inboxes and appears in the Referred away inbox, where it is read-only. The receiving practice sees a banner saying the request was referred from your practice.
If you need a request back, you can ask for a recall from the Referred away inbox. The steps are in Referring Requests to Another Practice.
Best Practice Guidance
- Agree with the partner practice which requests they will take, and who checks the receiving inbox.
- Start with a narrow rule, such as one request type, before you apply it to all requests.
- Remember that referred requests become read-only at your practice, so avoid rules that refer requests your own team still needs to action.
- Keep the note short and useful, for example "Referred under our extended access arrangement".
- Test the rule with a dummy patient before you rely on it.
- You are responsible for the clinical safety of the actions you add. Follow your practice's clinical safety process, and check urgent requests are still seen in time.