> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Referring doctors

> Register the doctors and facilities that send you tests, and give each one a private portal link for following orders and collecting results.

export const AuditNote = ({action = 'This action'}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--info" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      {action} is written to your workspace's audit log with your name, the
      record touched and the time — a HIPAA requirement, and one you can review
      yourself under <strong>Audit Log</strong>. See{' '}
      <a href="/platform/security/audit-log">Audit log</a>.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['clinic']} plans="Enterprise" roles="Lab scientists, doctors, nurses and managers" note="Needs the Diagnostics care area" />

Outside clinicians send work to your laboratory, and they need to know what happened to it. **Referring Doctors** is where you register them: **Each referrer gets a private portal link where they can follow their orders and pick up released results.**

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Laboratory', 'Referring Doctors']} />

<TaskHeader before="The Diagnostics care area switched on" time="A minute per referrer" after="A registered referrer with a private portal link, selectable on new orders" />

## What you're looking at

Above the table: **Search referrers…**, which matches name, facility and email, and **Add referring doctor**. Hospitals on a Business plan also see **Commission statements**.

| Column                | Shows                                             |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Referrer**          | Their name and facility                           |
| **Contact**           | Email and phone, or an em dash                    |
| **Status**            | **Active** or **Paused**                          |
| **Last portal visit** | When they last opened their portal, or an em dash |
| **Link generated**    | When their current link was issued                |

Before you add anyone, the table explains itself: **No referring doctors yet. Add one to generate their private results-portal link, then pick them on new orders so their results appear in the portal.**

Each row's actions are **Get portal link**, **Edit**, **Pause portal access** (or **Re-enable portal access**) and **Remove**.

## Add a referring doctor

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select Add referring doctor">
    The dialog explains what saving does: **A private results-portal link is generated when you save.**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter their details">
    **Name** is the only required field — the example given is "Dr. Adaeze Okafor". **Facility (optional)**, **Email (optional)**, **Phone (optional)** and **Notes (optional)** follow. Add the email if you want to send the link from inside ClinikEHR rather than copying it out.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set a commission arrangement, if you have one">
    On a Business plan a **Commission arrangement** block appears: **Percent of collected (%)** on lab and imaging orders, and **Flat per order**. It is applied when you generate their monthly statement, not per order.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Add referrer">
    You get **Referring doctor added**, and the portal link dialog opens straight away.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Share the link">
    **Copy link**, **Email link** (only offered when you entered an email) or **Share on WhatsApp**. Then **Done**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The portal link opens their results portal — anyone holding it sees that referrer's orders. It is shown **once**, at the moment it is generated. If it is lost, generate a new one: doing so immediately stops the previous link from working, including for them, so share the replacement afterwards.
</Warning>

## Use a referrer on an order

Registering someone is only half of it. On the ordering form, under **Additional Notes**, set **Referring Doctor / Facility** to them. Attributed tests and completed results are what appears in their portal — an order raised without that field set never reaches them, however carefully they were registered. See [Lab reports](/hospital/diagnostics/lab-reports).

## Manage an existing referrer

| Action                  | What happens                                                                                                                                                     |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Get portal link**     | Asks **Generate a new portal link?** first, and warns that the previous link stops working immediately. Confirm with **Generate new link**                       |
| **Edit**                | Updates their contact details and commission arrangement. Confirms with **Referring doctor updated**                                                             |
| **Pause portal access** | Their link stops working; the row shows **Paused**. **Re-enable portal access** puts it back                                                                     |
| **Remove**              | Asks **Remove \{name}?** — their link stops working immediately, and orders already attributed to them keep their history but are no longer linked to a referrer |

Pause when someone is away or a relationship is on hold; remove only when they are gone for good.

<AuditNote action="Opening a referrer's account, and releasing a result to their portal" />

## Who can do this

**Role** decides whether this page opens — owners, lab scientists, doctors, managers and nurses pass; anyone else is told **You don't have permission to manage Referring Doctors. Please contact your clinic administrator.** An owner can also hide **Laboratory** from a role under [Role navigation](/hospital/settings/role-navigation).

| Action                                | Who by default         | How it is governed                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Open the referrer list                | Lab and clinical staff | Role                                                                                                                         |
| Add, edit, pause or remove a referrer | Lab and clinical staff | Role                                                                                                                         |
| Generate or share a portal link       | Lab and clinical staff | Role                                                                                                                         |
| Open **Commission statements**        | Owners and managers    | Plan — the button appears only on Business, and the page behind it locks with **Referral commissions is a Business feature** |
| Set a commission arrangement          | Owners and managers    | Plan — the block is hidden below Business                                                                                    |

Where per-person enforcement applies, it is **opt-in**: someone never saved in the permissions sheet is unrestricted, and the sheet warns **"Saving starts enforcing"**. A **denied action is recorded** in the audit log; an allowed one is not. See [Staff permissions](/platform/team/permissions).

## Check it worked

* The referrer appears in the table with **Active** status and a **Link generated** date.
* They are offered in **Referring Doctor / Facility** on the ordering form.
* After they open their link, **Last portal visit** fills in.
* A test attributed to them and completed appears in their portal.

## Common issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Referring doctors are hidden">
    The full message is **Needs authorisation from your clinic owner or manager.** Ask an owner or manager to grant you access to the referrer portal.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The referrer says their link no longer works">
    Either it was regenerated — which breaks the previous link immediately — or their access is **Paused**. Check the row's status, then **Get portal link** and send them the new one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="They cannot see a result I completed">
    The order was not attributed to them. Set **Referring Doctor / Facility** on the order at the time it is raised; attribution cannot be added retrospectively from this page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Could not email the link">
    The message suggests the fix itself: copy it and share directly instead. Check the email address on the referrer's record while you are there.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No referring doctors registered appears on the ordering form">
    Nobody has been added yet. Add them here first; the ordering form only offers referrers from this list.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Commission statements is missing">
    It is a Business-plan feature. Below that plan the button does not render and the page behind it shows **Referral commissions is a Business feature**. See [Change your plan](/platform/plans/change-plan).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can a referrer see other doctors' patients?">
    No. The portal shows only orders attributed to that referrer. That is also why the link must be shared with them directly and never posted anywhere shared.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is the link only shown once?">
    Because it is a credential, not a bookmark. Storing it for later retrieval would mean anyone who can open this page could collect every referrer's access. Generate a new one instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does removing a referrer delete their orders?">
    No. The orders keep their history; they simply stop being linked to a referrer. Pausing is the reversible option if you are unsure.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do preliminary results appear in the portal?">
    No — only released results. A test that has not been completed is not published to anyone outside your laboratory.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there more on commissions and statements?">
    Yes. The Diagnostics edition runs the same referrer network and documents statements and payouts in full — see [Referring doctors](/lims/business/referrers).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck topic="a referring doctor" />