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Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria

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Home Our Work Health system integration and reform translation Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria

The Victorian and Tasmanian PHN Alliance (VTPHNA) is working with the Victorian Department of Health (DH) to support an integrated approach to the adoption of statewide referral criteria (SRC) for acute adult specialist clinics.

Health services often have different referral guidelines to access specialist clinics, leading to confusion regarding requirements and suitability of access. The DH has developed statewide referral criteria to provide clear and consistent guidance about which patients are appropriate for referral to public specialist clinics and what information and diagnostics are required to support accurate prioritisation.

Referral criteria are available for over 100 core conditions within the following specialties:

  • Cardiology
  • Chronic pain (Health Independence Program services)
  • Endocrinology
  • ENT
  • Gastroenterology (including endoscopic procedures)
  • General surgery (including breast surgery)
  • Gynaecology
  • Joint pain
  • Long COVID
  • Neurology
  • Obstetrics
  • Ophthalmology
  • Respiratory
  • Rheumatology
  • Urology
  • Vascular

Where to find statewide referral criteria

Referring clinicians will find the statewide referral criteria on all Victorian HealthPathways websites (or equivalent*) or visit src.health.vic.gov.au

What happens when a referral is incomplete or declined?

  • Referrals that do not meet the statewide referral criteria are expected to be declined by all Victorian public hospitals. When a referral is declined, referring clinicians should receive correspondence from the health service explaining why the referral has not been accepted.
  • If a referral is declined due to being incomplete – that is, it is missing essential information – the referring clinician must resubmit again in full. Patients will not receive an appointment or be placed on an appropriate waitlist until a complete specialist clinic referral has been received.

Clinical review of SRC

A review of statewide referral criteria published between 2018-2020, conducted by Clinical Review Panels, has been completed. This brings the full suite up to date with the latest advice and clinical guidelines. Several criteria now also include reference to ongoing symptoms post-acute COVID-19 infection.

The role of PHNs

All six Victorian PHNs will support the implementation of statewide specialist clinic referral criteria in primary care. Statewide project management and coordination is provided by VTPHNA to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach. The objectives of this project are:

  1. Improve GP confidence and capacity to manage high volume and/or low complexity conditions in the community.
  2. Support and participate in the development of consistent statewide referral criteria for public specialist clinics.
  3. Facilitate general practice and other primary health clinicians to adopt and comply with the statewide referral criteria, where applicable.
  4. Improve the quality of referrals from GPs/primary health to acute public specialist clinics.
  5. Support GPs and other referring clinicians to navigate their local health system and accurately refer to appropriate health services through the provision of referral pathways.

Key PHN activities include:

  • Development and publication of clinical and referral content for the nominated specialities, including the statewide referral criteria, on all Victorian HealthPathways websites or the South Eastern Melbourne online care pathway platform.
  • Development of a statewide communication and engagement plan that is implemented locally, to promote and raise awareness of the statewide specialist clinic referral criteria among primary health practitioners.
  • Support the development of a statewide specialist clinic referral directory and wait list registry.

PHN mechanisms

  • Provider engagement and training
  • Clinical support
  • Localised care pathways

More information

  • Visit: src.health.vic.gov.au/specialities

Communications toolkits

PHNs and other stakeholders can use these communications toolkits to raise awareness of the statewide referral criteria for:

  • Respiratory and sleep – 1 November 2024
  • General surgery (hernia, oesophageal and hepatobiliary, colon and anorectal conditions) – 1 November 2024
  • General surgery (including breast surgery) – 1 June 2024
  • Joint pain and plastic surgery – 1 March 2024
  • New statewide ‘companion’ criteria for diagnostic colonoscopy for positive faecal occult blood tests and diagnostic gastroscopy for dysphagia – 1 February 2024
  • Long COVID – July 2023

*or online care pathways website for GPs in the South Eastern Melbourne and Gippsland PHN catchment.

FAQs

  • Statewide SRC FAQs
  • Statewide SRC FAQs (Gippsland PHN)
  • Statewide SRC FAQs (South Eastern Melbourne PHN)
  • Statewide SRC FAQs Endoscopy ‘Companion’ (1 February 2024)

Social graphics

Click on the images below to download (.png)

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Access your local HealthPathways or care pathways website

HealthPathways Murray

Locations covered:

Central Victoria
Gannawarra
Loddon
Campaspe
Greater Bendigo,
Mt Alexander
Macedon (part)

Goulburn Valley
Moira
Greater Shepparton
Strathbogie
Mitchell
Murrindindi

North East
Albury
Alpine
Benalla
Indigo
Mansfield
Towong
Wangaratta
Wodonga

North West
Buloke
Mildura
Swan Hill

HealthPathways Gippsland

Locations covered:

Bass Coast
Baw Baw
East Gippsland
Latrobe
South Gippsland
Wellington

HealthPathways Melbourne

Locations covered:

HealthPathways Melbourne is a partnership between Eastern Melbourne PHN and North Western Melbourne PHN.

Eastern
Banyule
Boroondara
Knox
Manningham
Maroondah
Mitchell (part)
Monash
Murrindindi (part)
Nillumbik
Whitehorse
Whittlesea
Yarra Ranges (part)

North Western
Brimbank
Darebin
Hobsons Bay
Hume
Macedon Ranges (part)
Maribyrnong
Melbourne
Melton
Moonee Valley
Moorabool
Moreland
Wyndham
Yarra

HealthPathways Western Victoria

Locations covered:

Ballarat Goldfields
Central Goldfields
Ballarat
Hepburn
Moorabool
Pyrenees

Geelong Otway
Queenscliffe
Greater Geelong
Golden Plains
Surf Coast
Colac Otway

Great South Coast
Corangamite
Glenelg
Moyne
Southern Grampians
Warrnambool

Wimmera Grampians
Ararat
Hindmarsh
Horsham
Northern Grampians
West Wimmera
Yarriambiack

South Eastern Melbourne Pathways

Locations covered:

Bayside
Cardinia
Casey
Frankston
Glen Eira Greater
Dandenong
Kingston
Mornington
Peninsula
Port Philip
Stonnington

Program contacts

Statewide Project Manager
Roxanne Adams
Ph. (03) 9347 1188

Eastern Melbourne PHN
Cherylynn Garner
Ph: (03) 9046 0351

Gippsland PHN
Jeannette Douglas 
Ph. (03) 5175 5444

Murray PHN
Chris Fishley
Ph: (03) 4408 5618

North Western Melbourne PHN
Cherylynn Garner
Ph: (03) 9046 0351

South Eastern Melbourne PHN
Campbell Rule
Ph: 1300 331 981

Western Victoria PHN
Claire Nivarovich
Ph. (03) 5222 0800

Copyright 2023 Victorian and Tasmanian PHN Alliance
  • About us
    • About the Alliance
    • Community engagement
    • Collaboration
    • Leadership
    • PHN Publications
    • Thought Leadership
  • Our Work
    • Best practice, prevention, management and support
      • Accelerated uptake of Hepatitis C medicines
      • Carer Awareness in General Practice
      • Community led cancer screening
      • Lymphoedema Primary Care Capacity Building
      • Optimal Care Pathways
        • Optimal Care Pathways – Oesophagogastric Cancer OCP
        • Optimal Care Pathways – Prostate Cancer
      • Place-based Suicide Prevention
      • Urgent Care Clinics
      • Statewide Paediatric HealthPathways Project
      • Victorian HIV and Hepatitis Integrated Training and Learning (VHHITAL)
        • VHHITAL – Education and events copy pack
    • Connecting health with other sectors
      • Doctors in Secondary Schools
        • Apply to Doctors in Secondary Schools: one day out of your everyday
      • Enhancing Mental Health Support in Secondary Schools
    • Health system integration and reform translation
      • Alcohol and other Drug Integration
      • Care Pathways and Referral
        • COVID-19 care pathways
      • Enhancing Carers Supports Within Primary Health Care
      • Mental Health Integration
      • My Health Record Expansion
      • PIP QI Incentive partnership
      • SafeScript
      • State Emergency and Support Recovery
      • Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria
      • The National Disability Insurance Scheme in Victoria and Tasmania
      • Voluntary Assisted Dying
  • News and Education
    • Education and Calendars
    • News
    • Online Learning
  • SafeScript Training
  • Contact
    • Contact us
    • Our PHNs
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