Referral
Seamless, electronic referral of patients to specialists or partner facilities, built on HL7® FHIR® and aligned to Malaysia’s MY-Core profiles.
For technical details, see the SI-LAB FHIR Implementation Guide and MY-Core profiles
Why start with Referral?
The Referral Use Case provides a standardized way to mainly request, track, and respond to referrals between healthcare facilities via the MY Core specification.
The integration concept is designed to be system-agnostic, ensuring consistent semantics whether used internally within one organization or across organizations.
Care Continuity
Traditional referrals often rely on manual letters, fax, or PDFs, leading to missing clinical information and delayed care. Structured, electronic referrals ensure the specialist has the full picture before the patient visit.
Efficiency & Transparency
Electronic referral tracking reduces administrative burden, eliminates lost paperwork, and enables patients to know the status of their referral in real-time.
Clinical Completeness
Using FHIR® ensures that referrals include core data (conditions, medications, diagnostic results), improving decision-making and reducing redundant tests.
Alignment with MY-Core: Referral transactions use MY-Core profiles for Patient, Encounter, ServiceRequest, and DiagnosticReport, ensuring interoperability and consistency nationwide.
REUSABILITY
- Works across multiple specialties
- Provider-neutral & facility-neutral
TRANSPARENCY
- Real-time referral status updates
- Structured responses (accept/decline/pending)
STANDARDS
- FHIR R4
- SI-LAB profiles for ServiceRequest & CarePlan
FHIR Resources
Primary resources
- ServiceRequest (Referral order)
- Task (Referral status tracking)
- CarePlan (Planned services from a specialist)
- Condition
- DocumentReference
Supporting (main)
- Patient
- Organization (Referring provider & receiving facility)
- Practitioner (Referring & receiving)
- PractitionerRole
- Encounter
Supporting (as applicable)
- DiagnosticReport
- Observation
- MedicalRequest
- Appointment (Specialist scheduling)
Expected outcomes
Closed-loop Referral Tracking
Referrals are initiated, tracked, and resolved electronically with clear status visibility for both providers and patients.
Faster Access to Specialist Care
Reduced delays through automated acceptance workflows and integrated scheduling.
Reduced Redundancy & Errors
Complete structured clinical data reduces unnecessary repeated tests and miscommunication.
Improved Patient Experience
Patients receive coordinated care with transparency, timely access to specialists, and improved outcomes.
FAQ
Is this production or a sandbox?
This is a standards interoperability lab (sandbox) used to prove readiness and de-risk go-live.
Which standards are used?
HL7 FHIR R4, IPS Implementation Guide, and MY-Core profiles for local alignment.
Do we need new software to start?
No. Vendors can integrate from existing systems using standard FHIR APIs and our examples.
What do we get at the end?
A validation report, improvement recommendations, and a completion certificate.
CONTACT US
Share your email and any remarks, feedback, a demo request, or a meetup suggestion. We’ll respond with the next steps.
Other ways to reach us
Direct Email
contact@silab.my
pilot@silab.my
Office Hours
Wednesday, 3-4 pm MYT (virtual)
Meeting Location
DHM, Kuala Lumpurpilot@silab.my