Literature Review on the prioritisation of referrals in interdisciplinary teams

Literature Review on the Prioritisation of Referrals in Interdisciplinary Teams

Aim

The aim of this research was to review referral prioritisation tools and techniques in community-based health and social care services.

No literature that focused on referral prioritisation in interdisciplinary teams was found. The review did find four relevant methods /tools:

• Prioritisation criteria tools, which prioritise those waiting for a service based on levels of urgency;
• Prioritisation scoring systems that score the relevant characteristics of a person to give an urgency score;
• Triage systems, particularly the Specific and Timely Appointment Triage (STAT) model; and
• Patient Navigation Systems (PNS) which link children and families in need of a service to a wide range of services based on their potential needs.

The literature highlighted that prioritisation based solely on human-decision making can be flawed and that the use of criteria tools and systems, and the integration of health technology and Artificial Intelligence can be used to support prioritisation.

The literature suggests that prioritisation processes are most effective when informed by public consultation and developed through engagement with potential service users.

The literature has shown that disagreement on what constitutes urgency remains an issue, even when structured priority criteria are followed. Irrespective of the chosen method, developing an integrated prioritisation approach through public consultation and engagement with relevant bodies, prioritisation can become a fair, consistent, and transparent process that is integrated and meaningful for all.