Electronic medical referral system: A forum-based approach

In the medical field, it is common practice for physicians to refer to and consult one another to complete patients´ medical treatment. The transfer of a patient from one physician to another is termed a referral. Medical referrals are not straightforward; a successful referral requires finding an available physician with the proper specialty. The focus of this paper is to understand the workflow of the referral process in Canada´s public healthcare system, and propose a health informatics system to move the referral process into electronic form. The solution involves a forum-based approach that provides a common communication medium for healthcare professionals involved in the referral process.