[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-275413-105":53,"doc-detail-275413-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":120,"head_meta":122,"extra_data":124,"updated_unix":126},105,"en","referral-letter-cheat-sheet-referral-letter-template","Referral Letter Cheat Sheet - Referral Letter Template","","A mental health referral letter is a clinician-to-clinician, signed and dated request for assessment or treatment of a named client. It must include a clear referral question up front, relevant history and current medications with doses, dated symptom measures (e.g., PHQ-9, GAD-7), and an explicit risk status with recency. The template also defines the referrer’s ongoing role, urgency and sessions, required statuses (MHTP/PAMP), attachments, and proper sign-off to support triage, retesting, and payer compliance.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/referral-letter-cheat-sheet-referral-letter-template/275413/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/referral-letter-cheat-sheet-referral-letter-template/275413.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Jasmine","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",19,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"What key elements must a mental health referral letter contain?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"It should include a clear referral question first, relevant history, current medications with doses, current symptoms with dated measures, explicit risk status, and the referrer’s ongoing role while care continues.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"Why is stating risk status in one explicit line important?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"The receiver uses that line to set urgency and cannot triage or retest without it. Omitting risk forces re-triage from nothing.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What should you do before sending the referral letter?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"Confirm the referral question is answerable in one visit, medications and doses are listed, symptom scores are dated and trendable, risk is stated with method and recency, and ongoing role, attachments, signature, and date are present.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":121,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":123,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":125,"site_id":56},275413,1790184750,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":128},{"doc_id":125,"user_id":129,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":73,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":9},2336478487870,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Referral Letter Cheat Sheet  \nReviewed by the BastionGPT Clinical Advisory Board · August 2026  \nA mental health referral letter is a signed, dated request from one clinician to another to assess or treat a named client. It states the referral question, relevant history, current medications, symptoms and measures, risk status, and what the referrer keeps doing while care continues. GPs, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists exchange one whenever care crosses providers; most run 150 to 500 words.  \nHeader, addressee, and identifiers the particulars payment checks  \nDo: date, your name, credentials, practice details (AU: provider number; US plan referrals: NPI), client name, DOB, and contact. Pitfall: assuming you must name a clinician. Australia expressly allows a generic address; Ontario accepts a clinic name.  \nReferral question one or two sentences, placed first  \nDo: what you are asking the receiver to do (assess and advise, evaluate for medication, deliver therapy), for whom, and why now. Pitfall: \"please assess\" with no answerable question; one audit found more than 40% of mental health referrals not accepted.  \nRelevant history and medications what changes the receiver 's decision  \nDo: working diagnosis, treatment to date and response, prior episodes, medical history, current medications with doses. Pitfall: omitting the medication list; Better Access requires it, and a psychiatrist evaluating for medication looks for it first.  \nCurrent symptoms and measures dated scores beat adjectives  \nDo: the presentation now, dated scores (PHQ-9, GAD-7, K10, DASS-21), and the impact on work, study, or relationships.  \nPitfall: adjectives alone; \"significant distress\" gives the receiver nothing to triage on or retest against.  \nRisk status one explicit line either way  \nDo: state risk plainly, present or absent, with when you last assessed it.  \nPitfall: silence; the receiver sets urgency from this line, and a letter that skips risk forces a re-triage from nothing.  \nYour ongoing role a referral is not a transfer  \nDo: what continues with you: session frequency, focus, who the client contacts between appointments, how to coordinate. Pitfall: an unstated role reads as a transfer of care; the receiver may assume they now hold the whole case.  \nUrgency, sessions, attachments, and signature the fields rebates hang on  \nDo: priority and timeframe, sessions requested (AU: six assumed), MHTP or PAMP status, attachments; sign and date. Pitfall: unsigned or undated letters fail Australian rules; a missing referrer NPI denies US plan claims (CARC 183, N286) .  \nBefore you send  \n Referral question stated first and answerable in one visit  History filtered to what changes the receiver 's decision  Current medications listed with doses  \n Scores dated and trended for the receiver to retest  \n Risk stated either way, with method and recency  \n Ongoing role, attachments, signature, and date all present  \nDrafting with AI  \nBring a few bullets, a dictation, or the relevant chart notes; convention fixes the order: referral question first, then history, medications, measures, risk status, and your ongoing role.  \n\"Draft a referral letter to a psychiatrist for medication evaluation: recurrent major depression, 14 CBT sessions with gains plateaued, PHQ-9 14, no prior medication trials, low risk, weekly therapy continues: …\"  \nNever paste patient-identifying information into consumer AI tools. BastionGPT is HIPAA-compliant with a signed BAA on every plan.  \n150 to 500 words  \na single page  \n10 to 20 min by hand  \nclinical team estimate  \nAsks a defined task  \nwhile your care continues  \nReceiver · record · payer  \nwho reads it  \nFull guide, sample letter, and compliance notes:  \n[bastiongpt.com/template/referral-letter](bastiongpt.com/template/referral-letter)  \nBastionGPT drafts complete referral letters from your notes. Free 7-day trial.  \nDate: From (referring clinician): Credentials:  \n\n| Practice address and phone / provider no. (AU) / NP","cbCaipATikpb3OM0","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipATikpb3OM0","pdf",124033,"English","# Referral letter basics\n## What the letter must include\n# Header and identifiers\n## Referring clinician and addressee details\n# Referral question\n## Keeping it specific and answerable\n# Relevant history and medications\n## Working diagnosis and treatment response\n# Current symptoms and measures\n## Dated scores and functional impact\n# Risk status\n## Stating risk clearly and recency\n# Ongoing role during care\n## Referral vs transfer of care\n# Urgency, sessions, attachments, signature\n## Compliance and sign-off\n# Drafting with AI\n## Safe inputs and recommended workflow","[{\"question\":\"What key elements must a mental health referral letter contain?\",\"answer\":\"It should include a clear referral question first, relevant history, current medications with doses, current symptoms with dated measures, explicit risk status, and the referrer’s ongoing role while care continues.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is stating risk status in one explicit line important?\",\"answer\":\"The receiver uses that line to set urgency and cannot triage or retest without it. Omitting risk forces re-triage from nothing.\"},{\"question\":\"What should you do before sending the referral letter?\",\"answer\":\"Confirm the referral question is answerable in one visit, medications and doses are listed, symptom scores are dated and trendable, risk is stated with method and recency, and ongoing role, attachments, signature, and date are present.\"}]","Referral Letter Cheat Sheet - Referral Letter Template | PDF",1789487294]