Ocean Sites that use an external system or process to manage their received referrals without ever returning to Ocean to update them at the end of their lifecycle can use the 'Automatically Close Referrals' functionality.
However, before enabling this functionality, Ocean Sites should be aware of the level of ambiguity that this functionality adds for other stakeholders involved in the eReferral lifecycle.
Note: Ocean Sites that update the status of referrals in Ocean for the entirety of the referral lifecycle should not use the 'Automatically Close Referrals' functionality.
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In a typical eReferral lifecycle, the referral recipient marks the referral as 'Completed' once the appointment date has passed. This moves the referral into the 'Completed' status folder for all referral stakeholders, and makes it explicitly clear to the referring provider that the referral has truly been completed by the recipient. In this case, no message is added within the referral.
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- In contrast, when the 'Automatically Close Referrals' functionality has been enabled and the referral is automatically closed by Ocean, the referral moves into the 'Completed' status folder for all referral stakeholders and a generic message is automatically added within the referral stating: "This referral was closed automatically."
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While this message clearly states that the closing of the referral was automatic, it does not make it explicitly clear to the referring provider whether or not the referral has truly been completed, nor does it provide any instructions on how referral stakeholders could expect an update on the true final state of the referral (ultimately leaving them "out of the loop").
Example: If a patient misses an appointment and the referral recipient fails to update the eReferral with rescheduled appointment information, the referral would be automatically completed a certain number of days after the original (missed) appointment. This causes the eReferral to appear to be 'Completed' to all referral stakeholders in Ocean, however the patient has truly not yet been seen by the referral recipient.
To ensure that all stakeholders are made aware of the true final status of referrals that have been automatically closed, it is important for referral recipient's who choose to use this functionality to have a process (outside of Ocean) to perform their due diligence on the rest of the referral's lifecycle, and to communicate the true status of the referral to other referral stakeholders in due course (outside of Ocean).