Changes to specialities and clinic types in the NHS e-Referral Service

Below are the specialty and clinic type changes delivered or planned.

These changes will make the correct services simpler to identify, resulting in an easier referral route for referrers. It is recommended service providers review and consider including these new clinic types to any existing e-RS services. 

Based on user feedback, a new clinic type will be introduced in October 2024:

1. ‘Mastalgia within Surgery’ under the Breast specialty. Read the The Breast Best Practice Timed Pathway (BPTP) Guidance located on the East Midlands Cancer Alliance webpage for more information the faster diagnostic pathways.

Based on user feedback, a new clinic type will be introduced in September 2024:

1. ‘Haematopspermia’ under the Urology specialty. 

To help referrers identify services better a new specialty of ‘Chemical Pathology’ will be added to e-RS to include the following clinic types:

• Metabolic Disorders
• Lipid Disorders
• Renal Metabolic Disorders

To support patients getting earlier diagnosis and treatment, the following new clinic types will be added to e-RS under 'Interventional Radiology' specialty:

• Therapeutic Embolisation
• Not Otherwise Specified

The new 'Stroke Medicine Service' speciality now contains the following clinic types:

• Stroke (not TIA)
• Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA)

The following current specialities and clinics type remain:

Suggested actions

Providers: review current stroke and TIA services as above on e-RS. Consider configuring these services to the new Stroke Medicine Service specialty and clinic types being introduced if more appropriate. Providers should ensure that appropriate clinic terms are added to each service and inform local referrers of any changes.

Integrated Care Boards: liaise with providers and referrers to ensure referral protocols for stroke or TIA pathways are clear to ensure there is no confusion for referrers.

Referrers: when searching for services, utilising the clinical term search option within e-RS will ensure appropriate services associated with specific stroke/TIA terms.

A new clinic type of 'Bariatric surgery' is available under the 'GI and Liver (Medicine and Surgery)' specialty.

Our users have fed back that this change will make referring in to bariatric surgery services easier and will support patients get an early diagnosis and treatment.

To support NHS Community Diagnostic Centres and other diagnostic pathways, the following new clinic types have been introduced in the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) under the 'Diagnostic Physiological Measurement' specialty:

• Respiratory - Spirometry +/- bronchodilator
• Respiratory - Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO)