Tasmanian eReferral System

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About the Tasmanian eReferral system

eReferrals are a way to send secure electronic referral communication between primary healthcare providers, hospitals, specialists and allied health practitioners.

They can improve the quality and efficiency of the referral process by reducing delays, errors, and duplication.

Primary Health Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government Department of Health have partnered to bring an eReferral system to Tasmania. The system uses HealthLink Smart Forms for primary care users, linking to the referral management system for public hospitals.

The eReferral system is available to all primary care organisations and primary care eReferral usage costs are paid for by Primary Health Tasmania and the Tasmanian Department of Health in a cost sharing arrangement.

Rollout progress to date

Stage 1 rollout of the eReferral system has now been completed across Tasmania with outpatient services across all public hospitals and more than 85% of non-GP medical specialist organisations across the state onboarded.

In June 2023, monthly referrals sent across the Tasmanian health system totalled 5,421 with 3,573 of those to public hospital outpatient services and the remainder to private primary care providers. This exceeds our 3-year monthly usage target in less than a year.

The cumulative total of eReferrals sent as of 30 September 2023 was over 38,000.


For more usage stats, please visit the 'Hear all about it' tab below where we will post regular usage updates.


What's next?

Primary Health Tasmania and the Tasmanian Department of Health are now moving into stage 2 of the eReferral system rollout.

In stage 2, the Department of Health project team will focus on:

  • expanding the system to further outpatient departments and Tasmanian Health System services
  • introducing Statewide Referral Criteria into outpatient service templates, and
  • continuing to respond to user feedback to improve usability of hospital referral templates.

Primary Health Tasmania will focus on:

  • continuing to increase awareness and use of the eReferral system by GPs and non-GP medical specialists
  • supporting integration of HealthLink Smartforms into Communicare and Medical Director Helix
  • working with HealthLink to further develop the system to improve usability for allied health organisations, and
  • capturing feedback from primary care users and working with the Tas DOH and HealthLink to improve the system.

Progress and further information about are available in the eReferral Stage 2 rollout progress tracker to the right.


How to navigate this site

To the right you can find:

  • rollout progress information
  • useful documents and links with more detailed information, and
  • information on how to contact the eReferral team or request a demo session for your organisation.

In the section below you can find:

  • news and updates about the system
  • information about the key benefits of eReferrals
  • information about upcoming enhancements
  • a feedback and suggestions form.

About the Tasmanian eReferral system

eReferrals are a way to send secure electronic referral communication between primary healthcare providers, hospitals, specialists and allied health practitioners.

They can improve the quality and efficiency of the referral process by reducing delays, errors, and duplication.

Primary Health Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government Department of Health have partnered to bring an eReferral system to Tasmania. The system uses HealthLink Smart Forms for primary care users, linking to the referral management system for public hospitals.

The eReferral system is available to all primary care organisations and primary care eReferral usage costs are paid for by Primary Health Tasmania and the Tasmanian Department of Health in a cost sharing arrangement.

Rollout progress to date

Stage 1 rollout of the eReferral system has now been completed across Tasmania with outpatient services across all public hospitals and more than 85% of non-GP medical specialist organisations across the state onboarded.

In June 2023, monthly referrals sent across the Tasmanian health system totalled 5,421 with 3,573 of those to public hospital outpatient services and the remainder to private primary care providers. This exceeds our 3-year monthly usage target in less than a year.

The cumulative total of eReferrals sent as of 30 September 2023 was over 38,000.


For more usage stats, please visit the 'Hear all about it' tab below where we will post regular usage updates.


What's next?

Primary Health Tasmania and the Tasmanian Department of Health are now moving into stage 2 of the eReferral system rollout.

In stage 2, the Department of Health project team will focus on:

  • expanding the system to further outpatient departments and Tasmanian Health System services
  • introducing Statewide Referral Criteria into outpatient service templates, and
  • continuing to respond to user feedback to improve usability of hospital referral templates.

Primary Health Tasmania will focus on:

  • continuing to increase awareness and use of the eReferral system by GPs and non-GP medical specialists
  • supporting integration of HealthLink Smartforms into Communicare and Medical Director Helix
  • working with HealthLink to further develop the system to improve usability for allied health organisations, and
  • capturing feedback from primary care users and working with the Tas DOH and HealthLink to improve the system.

Progress and further information about are available in the eReferral Stage 2 rollout progress tracker to the right.


How to navigate this site

To the right you can find:

  • rollout progress information
  • useful documents and links with more detailed information, and
  • information on how to contact the eReferral team or request a demo session for your organisation.

In the section below you can find:

  • news and updates about the system
  • information about the key benefits of eReferrals
  • information about upcoming enhancements
  • a feedback and suggestions form.

  • Referral to THS Antenatal Service using HealthLink Smartform

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    The preferred method for referral to the northwest antenatal service is via the HealthLink SmartForm. Select the ‘Tasmanian Health Service’ and ‘Antenatal’ service from the menu within HealthLink. There will be changes to the antenatal SmartForm early in 2024 to accommodate service specific information, similar to the information in the paper-based form.



  • Statewide Referral Criteria (SRC) GP Webinars

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    The Tasmanian Health Service and Primary Health Tasmania eReferral teams are pleased to host two GP information sessions on the next stage of eReferral rollout.

    These online sessions for GPs will provide:

    • An update on the eReferral rollout to date
    • An update on the Outpatient Transformation Program will include the achievements from year one, scope and progress for year two
    • Information on introduction of Statewide Referral Criteria (SRC)


    Both sessions will provide the same update. In addition:

    • Session 1 will feature Dr Nathan Dwyer speaking about SRC and Cardiology.
    • Session 2 will feature Dr Chris Middleton speaking about SRC and Gastroenterology.


    Both sessions will be recorded and available to view on-demand.


    Session 1 will be on Tuesday 12 December 2023 from 7:30-8:30am - Register Here

    Session 2 will be on Wednesday 13 December 2023 from 7:00-8:00pm - Register Here



  • Allied Health Practitioners

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    Allied health providers can now accept and send correspondence via the HealthLink Smartforms system. Primary Health Tasmania and the Department of Health Tasmania are paying for HealthLink Smartform usage costs, so there are no costs for primary care providers.

    Allied health organisations with an existing Healthlink EDI should contact HealthLink to ensure they are

    • Setup to receive HealthLink Smart Forms via their patient management software or via the My HealthLink portal, and

    • visible in the ‘Other providers’ directory and can commence accepting eReferral and using the system to send correspondence.

    Any existing allied health providers using the HL Connect portal, should upgrade to the My HealthLink portal by contacting the HealthLink helpdesk on 1800 125 036.

    For allied health providers without a HealthLink EDI, please contact the HealthLink team to get setup on 1800 125 036. Please make sure HealthLink are aware you are located in Tasmania.

  • What are people saying?

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    Carolynne Partridge (Nurse Unit Manager – Specialist Outpatient Clinics, Launceston General Hospital)

    Launceston General Hospital Specialist Outpatient Clinics started using eReferrals three months ago. Over this period our clerical team has seen referrals received much faster than other methods. Sending a HealthLink SmartForm Referral means our administrators receive the referrals instantly and don’t have to wait for mail delivery, scroll through e-mails, or collect paper off the fax machine to manually scan / upload. This means referrals are sent to the clinicians much faster. We strongly encourage GPs to use the new HealthLink eReferral SmartForm solution in their practice.

    Allison Coull (Nurse Unit Manager - Ambulatory Care - Northwest Regional Hospital)

    We know that the recent introduction of eReferrals in the Northwest has been a change to existing GP referral methods, our team appreciates practices supporting this new process. The additional efforts involved in processing referrals still received via paper, emails and fax really slow down our processes. We notice that the eReferrals get to the correct clinic triaging location much faster. It also allows our doctors and nursing staff an easier communication channel with GP’s should extra information be required for a referral. As such, we urge any GPs who aren’t yet using Health Link SmartForms referrals to come onboard to help with efficiencies in our outpatient clinics.

    Sharon Kirkland (Nurse Unit Manager - Specialist Clinics/Outpatients Mersey Community Hospital)

    The staff in Outpatients at Mersey Community Hospital are excited to have the new centralised eReferral system. Receiving the new HealthLink Smart Form eReferrals is a more efficient process. The new referral system allows for referrals to be processed and triaged quicker. This results in your patients being seen in a more timely manner. The old system of receiving referrals by fax or email is a slow and inefficient process. This is demanding on the administrative team’s time. Time to triage is delayed, resulting in delays in patients being seen in clinic. My team would love to see every Tasmanian GP using the new referral system to assist our outpatient health services and to the benefit of our patients.

    John Stanfield, Manager Outpatient Appointments and Theatre Booking Clerks, Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH)

    The e-referral system embeds communication and registration efficiency for Outpatients Appointment Schedulers if Health Link Smart Referrals is used. Where the Health Link Smart Forms aren’t used, this means a lot of double handling and phone calls from GPs looking to confirm receipt or progression of referrals. Ideally, we’ll see a higher percentage of GP’s using health link soon… better for us better, for you and better for the patient experience.

    Yvonne Echaburu, Nurse Manager - Royal Hobart Hospital Outpatient Clinics

    The introduction of the eReferrals system will allow for improved efficiencies around referral registration, waitlisting and appointment allocation while allowing GP’s greater visibility in real-time to the referral outcome. We appreciate that the adoption of the HealthLink eReferral smart form is a change in process for some GPs but this change will ultimately help improve communications between the Specialist Clinics and GP practices, ensuring a better experience for all. The continued use of paper-based referrals received by fax is outdated and a greater risk for patients with the potential for lost or delayed referrals. Moving to an integrated system such the eReferral smart form will minimise those risks and ensure patients are seen in a more timely manner.

Page last updated: 06 Dec 2023, 09:48 AM