What are 'Externally Managed' eReferrals? – OceanMD

In certain cases, eReferral recipients may choose to action an eReferral using a restricted 'Receive and Manage Externally' action button within the eReferral.

This causes the eReferral to be automatically categorized into the 'Externally Managed' status folder for both the referring and receiving Ocean Sites.
As a general rule, once an eReferral has been marked as 'Externally Managed' it is typically no longer updated in Ocean by the referral recipient.

Note: An exception to this rule exists, in which an intermediary Central Intake Ocean Site that is responsible for referral routing may perform additional electronic forwarding of an Externally Managed referral to a new referral recipient that is currently accepting Ocean eReferrals (e.g., in the case that it was declined by the initial recipient outside of Ocean).

When this occurs, the referral is removed from the 'Externally Managed' folder and automatically re-categorized into the appropriate status folder.

Who can access the 'Receive and Manage Externally' button?

The 'Receive and Manage Externally' button is only available to referral recipients if their Directory Listing has been specially configured by an OceanMD employee.

This configuration is generally reserved for the following scenarios:

Ocean Sites that strictly receive eReferrals using a custom API integration which does not provide subsequent eReferral status updates to Ocean.
Non-integrated Ocean Sites that receive eReferrals but manage and update the status of the referrals using external systems (e.g. a Health Information System).
Central Intake Ocean Sites that may manually forward eReferrals outside of Ocean (e.g., via fax) but do not subsequently track and update the eReferral status in Ocean beyond the current recipient's decision to accept or decline the referral.

Is there an indication when a Directory Listing is configured in this way?

Yes. When a standard Directory Listing is configured with this option, a note is applied to the Directory Listing in the Ocean Healthmap to inform referrers. The note states:
"This listing does not update the eReferral status in Ocean. Contact the listing directly as needed for follow-up."

Central Intakes Externally Managing eReferrals

In the case that a Central Intake Directory Listing is configured in this way, a slightly different note is applied to the Directory Listing in the Ocean Healthmap. The note states:
"This central intake listing may not always show updates to the eReferral status in Ocean. Referral updates will appear for service providers that provide details on appointment dates and times."

An eReferral I sent has been marked as 'Externally Managed'. What do I do now?

In most cases, an eReferral will no longer be updated in Ocean once a recipient marks it as 'Externally Managed'. Depending on the type of Directory Listing that the referral was sent to, you may need to follow-up in a different way to obtain status updates regarding the referral.

If the eReferral was originally sent to a standard Directory Listing on the Ocean Healthmap, you can follow-up directly with the recipient using the contact information provided on their Directory Listing in the Ocean Healthmap.

If the eReferral was originally sent to (or automatically redirected to) a Central Intake Directory Listing on the Ocean Healthmap, a user from the Central Intake Ocean Site will send you a detailed message within the eReferral to inform you of where/who the referral was forwarded to and the relevant contact information that you can use to obtain future status updates regarding the referral.

Note: If the Central Intake decides to subsequently electronically forward the referral to a new recipient who is accepting Ocean eReferrals (e.g., in the case that it was declined by the initial recipient outside of Ocean), the referral will be automatically recategorized into your 'Awaiting Response' status folder and it will be updated to include the details of the current recipient.

I received an eReferral and marked it as 'Externally Managed'. What do I do now?

After marking an eReferral as 'Externally Managed', you should action the referral in accordance with your organization's defined process outside of Ocean.

If you are a referral recipient with a standard Directory Listing on the Ocean Healthmap, you can expect referrers to contact you (via the contact information supplied on your Directory Listing) regarding the current status of the eReferral.

If you are a user on a Central Intake Ocean Site, you should send a message to the referrer within the eReferral to inform them that the eReferral was manually forwarded outside of Ocean, who/where the referral was forwarded to, and contact information that the referrer can use to obtain future status updates regarding the referral.

Note: If the recipient of the manually forwarded referral declines the referral outside of Ocean and you choose to electronically forward it to a new recipient who is accepting Ocean eReferrals, the referral will be automatically recategorized into your Central Intake Ocean Site's 'Forwarded (New)' status folder and it will be updated to include the details of the current recipient.

Can referrals be removed from the 'Externally Managed' status folder?

Yes, in the case that a referral is now being managed in Ocean (rather than outside of Ocean), it can be removed from the Externally Managed status folder. This can be done using the following options:

Option 1: Central Intake Electronically Forwards the Ocean eReferral

Locate and open the referral from the 'Externally Managed' folder.

Click the 'Forward' button.

Search for and select the desired Directory Listing that is accepting Ocean eReferrals that you would like to forward the referral to.

Review the information of the Directory Listing and then click 'Forward Referral'.

During this step, a message will appear to inform you that electronically forwarding this referral will automatically remove it from the Externally Managed status folder.

The referral will be electronically forwarded to the new recipient, and be automatically re-categorized from the 'Externally Managed' folder to the 'Forwarded (New)' folder in your Central Intake Ocean Site.

At the referrer's Ocean Site, the referral will be automatically re-categorized into the 'Awaiting Response' folder.

At the recipient's Ocean Site, the referral will arrive in the 'New' folder.

Option 2: Manually Adding/Removing the Ocean eReferral to/from the 'Externally Managed' Folder

When an Ocean eReferral is currently "owned" by a Directory Listing that has been specially configured by an OceanMD employee to support the use of the 'Externally Managed' functionality, a new 'Add to Externally Managed' or 'Remove from Externally Managed' button is available under the 'Action' menu within the eReferral.

This button allows users to manually add or remove the referral from the 'Externally Managed' status folder for further actioning in Ocean.
When a referral is manually removed from the Externally Managed folder using this option, it is automatically re-categorized into the status folder that it was in prior to being marked as Externally Managed at all Ocean Sites.

Do 'Externally Managed' eReferrals trigger Deletion Warnings?

No, eReferrals that have been marked as 'Externally Managed' do not trigger Deletion Warnings.

Are 'Externally Managed' eReferrals included in referral analytic exports?

Yes, eReferrals that have been marked as 'Externally Managed' are included in referral analytic exports. They are denoted with a 'completionState ' value of 'EXTERNALLY_MANAGED'.