Hypertension
Adult

Nephrology

Useful Management Information

Clinician Resources

Patient Resources

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Persistent severe hypertension (>180/110 but below < 220/140 mmHg) without any of the following concerning features:
    • headache
    • confusion
    • blurred vision
    • retinal haemorrhage
    • reduced level of consciousness
    • seizures
    • proteinuria
    • papilloedema
    • signs of heart failure
    • chest pain

If suspected pregnancy-induced hypertension or pre-eclampsia refer the patient to the emergency department of a facility that offers obstetric services where possible.

Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Suspected or confirmed renal artery stenosis
  • Patients with resistant hypertension and not achieving blood pressure target despite three or more antihypertensive medications including a diuretic especially in the context of CKD
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • Patients with uncontrolled hypertension and CKD that are not achieving blood pressure target
  • Hypertension without clear diagnosis, especially in young patients

Essential Referral Information

  • Presence of comorbid conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or vascular disease
  • List of medications including details of all treatments offered and efficacy
  • Use of OTC (over the counter) medications
  • History of BP measurements including 24-hour measurements or home measurements if available
  • FBC, ELFT & eGFR results
  • Urine albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) or urine protein creatinine ratio (PCR) (ideally early morning sample but a random sample is acceptable)
  • Urine midstream M/C/S (including testing for red cell morphology and casts preferable)
  • Ultrasound (kidney, ureters & bladder) or alternative renal imaging results (if available)
  • Renal duplex report (only if renal artery stenosis suspected)

Additional Referral Information

  • History of smoking, alcohol intake and drug use (including recreational drugs)
  • Ethnicity (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population especially at risk)
  • Any investigations relevant to co-morbidities or where results exclude other secondary causes eg sleep study, endocrine tests
  • ECG and echocardiogram results
Last updated 23 February 2023

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Gold Coast Health Service District

Internal Referrals

Nephrology (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 Jagadeesh Kurtkoti
Medical Director Nephrology/Renal Medicine

Facilities

Gold Coast University 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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