The Life Starter
Sign up
All courses/Work

Course 104 · Work course 40

Track Referrals in a Medical Office

A fictional referral tracker with status evidence, contact scripts, overdue-item escalation notes, and a checked shift handoff.

Before you start

Organize a small table and follow a written office policy; no medical knowledge is needed.

See everything you’ll need

Practice materials and a worked example · Free download. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A fictional referral tracker with status evidence, contact scripts, overdue-item escalation notes, and a checked shift handoff.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesStart with the supplied materials, follow the lessons, and compare your work with the annotated example.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview

Watch an introduction.

This overview from AHRQ Primary Care introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.

Watch directly on YouTube
AHRQ Primary CareSystems Change: Understanding Your Workflow Processes to Prepare for System ChangeYouTube
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners age 14 and up; no employment or prior professional experience is required.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Organize a small table and follow a written office policy; no medical knowledge is needed.
  • Use paper, a text editor, or any free document editor; a calculator is optional.
  • Download the fictional starter and annotated example, or use the same records within each lesson.
  • No employer, customer, interview participant, purchase, or outside cooperation is required.
  • Lesson time includes practice and checks; optional video viewing and initial setup are extra.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A fictional referral tracker with status evidence, contact scripts, overdue-item escalation notes, and a checked shift handoff.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A role map and nonclinical escalation script.
  • A completeness screen with pending reasons and owners.
  • An administrative status script and contact log.
  • A status tracker with the evidence needed next.
  • An overdue-task review and factual escalation note.
  • A final referral packet and reconciled shift handoff.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Every required section is present and traceable to the supplied case facts.
  • Decisions separate known facts, assumptions, and unresolved questions.
  • Records, calculations, and instructions agree with each other and the stated rules.
  • The final revision addresses a changed case and explains what someone should do next.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Track evidence

A scheduled appointment is not a completed referral.

02

Respect role boundaries

Administrative staff record and route; clinicians decide care.

03

Keep an owner

Every unresolved case needs a next action and accountable person.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Referral
A clinician’s request for another service or professional to see a patient.
Closed loop
A handoff tracked through its required return and acknowledgement.
Status evidence
A dated record showing that a particular stage occurred.
Role-based access
Access limited to the information and actions assigned to a role.
Acknowledgement
Confirmation that the responsible person received or reviewed an item.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Separate clinical and administrative work

    Route work according to assigned responsibility.

  2. 2
    14 min

    Check referral completeness

    Identify missing administrative fields without guessing.

  3. 3
    16 min

    Write careful contact scripts

    Request the needed administrative status through an approved channel.

  4. 4
    16 min

    Track the return loop

    Use evidence to distinguish appointment, report and review stages.

  5. 5
    14 min

    Escalate overdue tasks

    Use assigned deadlines to prioritize administrative follow-up.

  6. 6
    18 min

    Reconcile the shift handoff

    Build a final packet with accurate counts and clear ownership.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Track Referrals in a Medical Office practice files

Start with the supplied materials, follow the lessons, and compare your work with the annotated example.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

AHRQ Make Referrals Easy
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected referral agreements, tracking, information return and patient assistance. Clinical actions in the source are not assigned to learners.

Access: Public page inspected without an account.

Reuse: Reference link only. Course prose and practice data are original; no third-party text, figures, or templates are reproduced.

AHRQ Be Easy To Reach
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected accessible communication, telephone processes and contact assessment.

Access: Public page inspected without an account.

Reuse: Reference link only. Course prose and practice data are original; no third-party text, figures, or templates are reproduced.

HHS Minimum Necessary Requirement
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Inspected role-based access and explicit exceptions, including provider disclosures for treatment. No blanket minimum-necessary rule is taught.

Access: Public page inspected without an account.

Reuse: Reference link only. Course prose and practice data are original; no third-party text, figures, or templates are reproduced.

Systems Change: Understanding Your Workflow Processes to Prepare for System Change
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12

Search description linked this AHRQ video to referral/care-coordination workflow; YouTube oEmbed verified title and AHRQ Primary Care channel. Optional professional context; learner duties stay nonclinical. Metadata and source were checked on 2026-09-12; full playback was not tested.

Access: Public YouTube metadata verified; viewing may depend on region/network. Optional; every activity works from written material.

Reuse: Link or embed only. No video download, transcription, or rehosting.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one