For Professionals

It is our preference to receive referrals and correspondence electronically please. We are able to receive correspondence via the following secure methods:

• Healthlink: EDI ‘cardiovs’
• Fax: (08) 8362 2273

Patients will not be able to claim Medicare rebates unless they have a valid referral at the time of appointment. Please read the ‘Checklist for Valid Referrals‘ tab below.

Referrals do not need to be made out to a specific doctor in our practice. Referrals may be sent to the Cardiovascular Centre by post, fax (08 8362 2273), email (cvc@adelaide.edu.au) or Healthlink (cardiovs).

Referrals are generally valid for a 12 month period from GPs and for a 3 month period from Specialists. We accept indefinite referrals from GPs if patients have conditions that need ongoing treatment. However, we are required by Medicare to request a new referral if a patient has a new presenting problem, if the referring doctor has changed practice location or has ceased practicing.

Addressed to:

• Referrals do not need to be made out to a specific doctor in our practice.
• Diagnostic test referrals can be addressed to the practice only or unspecified doctor

A valid referral must contain:

• the patient’s name
• date of birth
• date of referral
• relevant clinical information about the patient’s condition for investigation
• opinion, treatment and management
• signature of the referring practitioner.

The above applies to all referrals, including public hospital referrals.

If the period of the referral is not specified, Medicare deems it to be 12 months for GPs and 3 months for specialists/physicians.

If, as a GP, you wish to make an indefinite referral, please use the word “indefinite” to convey this. This will avoid your staff being contacted for new referrals when we are not sure of your intentions. Please do not use phrases such as “ongoing care” or “continuing care” as indefinite referrals. Although these phrases can be recognised by Medicare, it is not always this easy to interpret the GPs intention.