eReferral

By replacing paper and fax-based referrals with a secure, electronic system, eReferral Ontario will:

• reduce duplicate referrals
• improve patient safety through reduction in lost referrals 
• reduce administrative burden
• help providers to prioritize and triage patient care requests 
• and improve provider-to-provider communication

Using eReferral is a key first step to helping patients access care faster, and it works hand-in-hand with Central Intake to simplify referrals and improve access. Central Intake provides a single point of entry for primary care providers, specialists and allied health teams to request specialty care, surgery, diagnostic imaging and other services.

Ontario’s Digital Health Transformation Mission

eReferral is a key component of Ontario’s digital health transformation mission and supports the province’s goal of a more connected, efficient and patient-centred health care system. Aligned with the provincial ‘Patients Before Paperwork’ initiative, eReferral helps reduce administrative tasks so health care providers can focus on what matters most — delivering quality care.

Ontario Health conducted a competitive procurement process to evaluate vendors against provincial requirements including security, privacy, workflow integration and scalability. The successful vendor, OceanMD, was selected based on their ability to meet these standards and support province-wide implementation.

As part of this system-wide transformation, eReferral adoption is supported through local and regional deployment teams, ensuring a smooth transition for providers and their staff.

Discover how eReferral can improve your practice and enhance patient care. If you’re interested in learning more about eReferral, complete our Expression of Interest (EOI) form and an Ontario Health representative will contact you with more information.

Get Started With eReferral Ontario

Who is eReferral For

Senders

Clinicians who want to refer their patients to specialists.

Receivers
Specialists or other providers who only see patients by referral or for specialized tests like CT/MRI (diagnostic imaging) which are conducted in specialized centres/clinics.

Hospitals
Specialists, physicians and care teams to improve coordination and case management.

Resources for Using eReferral

For support getting started with eReferral and the eReferral workflow, we’ve organized training and support materials to help both Senders and Receivers. View resources. 

How eReferral Can Support You

• More reliable referrals: Send and track referrals in real-time, minimizing lost paperwork and improving coordination. eReferral also has the ability to integrate with Hospital Information Systems (HIS), reduces duplication, minimizes errors and improves operational efficiency.
• Improved workflows: Secure, standardized workflows ensure complete, high-quality referrals with all necessary patient information upfront, allowing for better triaging and optimizing providers' time.
• Better communication and care coordination: eReferral enhances collaboration between health care teams by ensuring that providers have access to the same up-to-date referral information. This reduces back-and-forth communication, minimizes delays and improves continuity of care.
• Better patient experience: Patients receive safe, timely and equitable access to care, with updates and seamless coordination between their care providers.
• Easy access to Standardized eReferral Forms: To reduce variation and support consistency in referrals for patient care, providers can access standardized eReferral forms right from their referral management system. Deployment Teams will be available to guide providers through adoption.
• Streamlined access through Central Intake: eReferral connects with Central Intake to offer a single point of entry for requesting specialty care, surgery, diagnostic imaging and other services. This improves transparency, enhances wait time visibility and helps patients see the right provider sooner.