Useful Management Information

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Pregnancy in patient with existing diabetes. For optimum care, patient should be seen within 1 week
  • Newly diagnosed GDM. For optimum care, patient should be seen within 1 week.
  • Poorly controlled diabetes with recent deterioration despite escalation of therapy (HbA1c >86mmol/mol or 10%)
  • Major hypoglycaemic episode (assistance has been required by a third party)
  • Existing type 1 diabetes with newly diagnosed coeliac disease
  • Existing diabetes with recent unintentional weight loss (> 5% of body weight over a month period)
  • Diabetes requiring optimisation in the presence of severe vascular complications, for example stage 3 CKD, proliferative retinopathy, gastroparesis
  • Diabetes with disordered eating
  • Diabetic foot ulcer – refer to high-risk foot criteria
  • Post DKA Admission
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Diabetes requiring optimisation in the presence of uncontrolled risk factors for chronic vascular disease (CVD)\
  • Unsatisfactorily controlled diabetes with recent deterioration despite escalation of therapy (HbA1c 64-86mmol/mol or 8-10%)
  • High-risk (but currently not ulcerated) foot in client with diabetes
  • Pre-pregnancy planning
  • Private or commercial driver’s licence who require a new or renewal of conditional licence
  • Stable type 1 diabetes
  • For consideration or commencement of continuous glucose monitoring or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pump
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • Self-management education or difficulties in managing diabetes in the absence of adequate community resources
  • If the patient does not meet the criteria for referral but the referring practitioner believes the patient requires specialist review, a clinical override may be requested:
    • Please explain why (e.g. warning signs or symptoms, clinical modifiers, uncertain about diagnosis, etc.)
  • Please note that your referral may not be accepted or may be redirected to another service.

Essential Referral Information

  • Type of diabetes and duration of disease
  • Details of all treatments offered and efficacy
  • Medication history
  • Presence of any complications and details when screening last performed
  • Height, weight, BMI
  • BP
  • History of smoking
  • HbA1c (current and previous results)
  • FBC
  • ELFT
  • Fasting lipids – cholesterol LDL HDL Tg results
  • Urine albumin: creatinine results

If a specific test result cannot be obtained due to access, financial, religious, cultural or consent reasons a clinical override may be requested. This reason must be clearly articulated in the body of the referral.

Additional Referral Information

  • Copy of GPMP/TCA
  • Ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI)
  • Licence status
  • Results of depression screening (PHQ-2)
    • over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?
      • little interest or pleasure in doing things?
      • feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?
  • If Type 1 diabetes: TSH, anti-transglutaminase antibodies, IgA for coeliac disease within the last 5 years
  • If peripheral neuropathy: B12 folate
Last updated 16 July 2021

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Send to: Gold Coast Health Service District

Internal Referrals

Diabetes/Endocrinology (E-Blueslips)

Fax

(07) 5687 4497

Post

Booking and Referral Centre
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215

Enquiries

1300 559 083

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

Service Availability

Dr Katherine Griffin
Medical Director Diabetes and Endocrinology

Facilities

Gold Coast University Hospital
Robina Hospital

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

Gold Coast Health - For Clinicians
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