A list of frequently asked questions for the state-wide referral criteria (SRC) in NSW.
State-wide referral criteria (SRC) is a clinical decision-support tool that communicates the minimum clinical criteria and referral information required for referrals issued to NSW public specialist outpatient services. SRC is intended to support referring health professionals when issuing referrals as well as NSW public specialist outpatient services at the point of screening and triage.
The five components of state-wide referral criteria (SRC) include:
The development of state-wide referral criteria (SRC) is led through a specialty- and patient cohort-specific Clinical Advisory Group. Each Clinical Advisory Group comprises of NSW Health doctors, nurses, midwives and/or allied health professionals as well as referring health professionals who are appointed to provide clinical advice and expert opinion based on scientific evidence and clinical best practice guidelines. Once the Clinical Advisory Group reaches a consensus in defining the SRC for identified presenting conditions, the SRC is circulated to a range of stakeholders for consultation. All feedback received from the consultation is considered and, where appropriate, amendments are made to the SRC. The proposed SRC then undergoes an independent, clinical review in preparation for final endorsement from relevant professional groups.
The availability of state-wide referral criteria (SRC) aims to provide referring health professionals with clearer expectations of clinical and referral requirements when determining whether to issue a referral to NSW public specialist outpatient services.
The application of SRC aims to improve the quality and appropriateness of referrals to NSW public specialist outpatient services, minimise clinical variation with referral acceptance and triaging practices, and reduce the number of patients who wait unnecessarily on NSW public specialist outpatient waitlists.
State-wide referral criteria (SRC), where available, is in-scope for NSW local health districts and specialty health networks with existing NSW public specialist outpatient services where new referrals (external and/or internal to NSW Health) are accepted, and presenting conditions with associated SRC are managed. For example, if Service A is available in NSW local health district A, new referrals from General Practitioners are accepted, and Service A manages Condition A, SRC is to be applied.
Priority for the development and implementation of state-wide referral criteria (SRC) has been given to specialties with a high volume of activity across NSW public specialist outpatient services. Specialties selected for SRC development in Phase 1 include ophthalmology, gastroenterology, ear, nose and throat (ENT), and orthopaedics.
The first release of SRC for identified presenting conditions within the specialties of ophthalmology and gastroenterology will be available in July 2023. The second release of SRC for additional presenting conditions within the specialties of ophthalmology and gastroenterology will be available in June 2024. The first release of SRC for identified presenting conditions within the specialties of ENT and orthopaedics will be available in August 2024.
No. The state-wide referral criteria (SRC) supports patients to be managed by the most appropriate member(s) of the multidisciplinary care team, involving doctors, nurses, midwives and/or allied health professionals, in the most appropriate setting based on their presenting condition. This may result in patients being seen by a doctor, nurse, midwife and/or allied health professional, or nurse, midwife and/or allied health professional only.
State-wide referral criteria (SRC) may not be applicable to referrals where a patient is being referred for multiple reasons to a given NSW public specialist outpatient service and there is not a primary condition for the referral (e.g. complex or rare disease). The decision to apply SRC under these circumstances is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Yes. The relevant Clinical Advisory Group will review the state-wide referral criteria (SRC) on an biennial basis, at a minimum, to ensure alignment with contemporary evidence and clinical best practice guidelines. Where urgent changes are required to the SRC, a representative of the SRC project team will convene the relevant Clinical Advisory Group to determine the changes to be made.
Interested stakeholders can issue state-wide referral criteria (SRC) change requests by emailing the SRC project team at NSW Health. All requests submitted will be managed by a representative of the SRC project team. Where SRC change requests are unclear, requesting stakeholders will be invited to meet with an appropriate representative(s) within NSW Health to clarify the request. Where SRC change requests are clear, the request will be circulated to the relevant Clinical Advisory Group to review the SRC change request received and determine the need for change(s) to be made. Where consensus is unable to be reached regarding the SRC change request, the clinical lead of the relevant Clinical Advisory Group will be asked to decide whether the change(s) is deemed necessary.
Interested stakeholders can obtain further information on the state-wide referral criteria (SRC) by emailing the SRC project team at NSW Health.
Yes. Referring health professionals are expected to reference state-wide referral criteria (SRC), where available, when determining to issue referrals to NSW public specialist outpatient services. By referencing the SRC, referring health professionals will be made aware of thresholds for referral to NSW public specialist outpatient services and the expected clinical urgency category based on clinical need.
Referring health professionals who do not reference state-wide referral criteria (SRC), where available, may be unaware of the expectations of clinical and referral requirements when determining to issue referrals to NSW public specialist outpatient services. As a result, patients may be delayed access to care due to NSW public specialist outpatient services seeking additional clinical and/or referral information from referring health professionals to support with referral screening and triage and/or returning the referral to referring health professionals with advice of alternative care options.
Referring health professionals can access the state-wide referral criteria (SRC) on the NSW Health website. The SRC will also be progressively accessible on your local HealthPathways portal and NSW Health electronic referral (e-Referral) forms.
Where there is no state-wide referral criteria (SRC) available for a given specialty or condition, referring health professionals and clinicians working in NSW public specialist outpatient services are to follow referral criteria determined by NSW local health districts or specialty health networks.
Yes, where appropriate. The state-wide referral criteria (SRC) is intended to be used by referring health professionals and clinicians working in NSW public specialist outpatient services as a clinical decision-support tool. As such, referring health professionals and clinicians working in NSW public specialist outpatient services may override the SRC should it be deemed necessary. Issuing and/or accepting referrals that vary from the SRC are to be documented with clinical reasoning.
Clinicians working in NSW public specialist outpatient services can access the state-wide referral criteria (SRC) on the NSW Health website. Each NSW local health district and specialty health network will also have local processes and systems in place to support the application of SRC.
Yes. In line with the NSW Health Management of Outpatient (Non-Admitted) Services Guideline, NSW local health districts and specialty health networks are expected to apply state-wide referral criteria (SRC) upon availability.
NSW local health districts and specialty health networks that do not reference state-wide referral criteria (SRC), where available, may experience inconsistencies in referral acceptance and triage practices. As a result, patients may be delayed access to care due to clinical variation in referral acceptance and triage practices and/or waiting on outpatient waitlists unnecessarily.
No. The state-wide referral criteria (SRC) does not define presenting conditions to be managed by all NSW local health districts and specialty health networks. Rather, the SRC defines the criteria to be applied by existing NSW public specialist outpatient services where new referrals (external and/or internal to NSW Health) are accepted, and presenting conditions with associated SRC are managed.
Patients and carers can access the state-wide referral criteria (SRC) on the NSW Health website.