Referring a patient

Your patient must have a Medicare card or be listed on their parent's card.

They must also be either:

• a new patient under 16
• an existing patient under 18.

They must live in our local catchment area. Use our catchment finder to check before you make a referral. We won't accept referrals for general paediatrics if your patient doesn't live in our catchment area.

You can still make a referral if:

• it's urgent, such as a new cancer diagnosis
• your patient's local hospital or health service doesn't have the services or treatments they need.

Visitors

If your patient is visiting Australia, they may still be eligible for medical care under Medicare. Find out which countries have Reciprocal Health Care Agreements on the Services Australia website.

We'll also consider patients if their carer has Medibank Overseas Student Health Cover.

If you have any questions or you're unsure if your patient is eligible call us on 07 3068 1111.

Asylum seekers

Asylum seekers are eligible for Medicare and can be referred if they have all of the following:

• a valid temporary entry visa
• have applied for a protection visa
• the right to work in Australia, or a spouse, parent or child who is a permanent Australian resident.

If they're not eligible for Medicare, there are other free services they can access. Read more about health services for refugees and asylum seekers on the Queensland Health website.

Referral guidelines

HealthPathways is a hospital referral guideline that includes the Queensland Government Clinical Prioritisation Criteria. It provides clinical assessment, management and referral advice for health providers.

You can find referral criteria and contact information for your local HHS HealthPathways on the Queensland Government website.

How to refer a patient

Fill in the referral form for the specialist department you are referring to or use Smart Referrals.

Children's Health Queensland prefers referrals are submitted via Smart Referrals or Secure Web Transfer (Medical Objects/HealthLink):

• Medical Objects: ID RQ402900084
• HealthLink ID: qldrchld

You can also send referrals via:

• fax: 1300 407 281
• post: PO Box 3474, South Brisbane Qld 4101

If you are referring from a service within for Queensland Health, you can email referrals to CHQ-REF@health.qld.gov.au

We will send you a letter with the outcome of your referral. You should receive this within 3 weeks, or sooner for urgent referrals. If you do not receive this letter, please contact us on 1300 762 831 to the check the progress of the referral.

Outpatient Call Centre

Families and patients can call our Outpatient Call Centre on 1300 762 831 if they have questions about their appointment.