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Rheumatology Central Access and Triage   at
Calgary Zone and Area
Central Access Healthcare Service
Connect Care Specialty: Rheumatology
Connect Care Department: CALGARY ZONE RHEUMATOLOGY CAT
Alberta Health Services - Calgary Zone
CENTRAL ACCESS SERVICES
This central access referral service provides a single point of entry for individuals who need to see a Rheumatologist. Provides a referral service for doctors, emergency departments, and urgent care centres that need to refer people to see a Rheumatologist in the Calgary Zone.
This central access referral service provides a single point of entry for individuals who need to see a Rheumatologist. Provides a referral service for doctors, emergency departments, and urgent care centres that need to refer people to see a Rheumatologist in the Calgary Zone.
ROUTINE REFERRAL PROCESS
Review Eligibility requirements and Referral guidelines below before making a referral to this service.
Referrals can be submitted via:
Please submit referral to Central Access and Triage via:
  1. Connect Care: Connect Care users use the Ambulatory Referral Order to the respective specialty in Connect Care. "Calgary Zone Rheumatology CAT"
  2. Fax: Non-Connect Care Users complete the referral form and send it to the service using the contact information in this profile. Referrals will be triaged and waitlisted accordingly.
Consults will booked via phone call, Zoom assessment or in-person clinic appointment depending on physician preference and urgency.

Review Eligibility requirements and Referral guidelines below before making a referral to this service.
Referrals can be submitted via:
Please submit referral to Central Access and Triage via:
  1. Connect Care: Connect Care users use the Ambulatory Referral Order to the respective specialty in Connect Care. "Calgary Zone Rheumatology CAT"
  2. Fax: Non-Connect Care Users complete the referral form and send it to the service using the contact information in this profile. Referrals will be triaged and waitlisted accordingly.
Consults will booked via phone call, Zoom assessment or in-person clinic appointment depending on physician preference and urgency.

URGENT REFERRAL PROCESS
Please submit referral to Central Access and Triage via:
  1. Connect Care: Connect Care users use the Ambulatory Referral Order to the respective specialty in Connect Care. "Calgary Zone Rheumatology CAT"
  2. Fax: Non-Connect Care Users complete the referral form and send it to the service using the contact information in this profile. Referrals will be triaged and waitlisted accordingly.
Page Rheumatologist on call for URGENT advice or appointment:
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
The following conditions are deemed URGENT;
  • Early Inflammatory Arthritis WITH joint swelling
  • Active Vasculitis or Connective Tissue Disease that is NOT organ threatening
  • Myositis
The following conditions are deemed SEMI-URGENT;
  • Inflammatory Arthritis with NO swelling
  • Polymyalgia Rheumatica (Please call Specialist LINK to discuss)
  • Stable Myopathy
  • Crystal Arthropathy (use Gout Pathway while waiting)
If uncertain about time frame or urgency, please page the Outpatient Rheumatologist on-call :
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
Please submit referral to Central Access and Triage via:
  1. Connect Care: Connect Care users use the Ambulatory Referral Order to the respective specialty in Connect Care. "Calgary Zone Rheumatology CAT"
  2. Fax: Non-Connect Care Users complete the referral form and send it to the service using the contact information in this profile. Referrals will be triaged and waitlisted accordingly.
Page Rheumatologist on call for URGENT advice or appointment:
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
The following conditions are deemed URGENT;
  • Early Inflammatory Arthritis WITH joint swelling
  • Active Vasculitis or Connective Tissue Disease that is NOT organ threatening
  • Myositis
The following conditions are deemed SEMI-URGENT;
  • Inflammatory Arthritis with NO swelling
  • Polymyalgia Rheumatica (Please call Specialist LINK to discuss)
  • Stable Myopathy
  • Crystal Arthropathy (use Gout Pathway while waiting)
If uncertain about time frame or urgency, please page the Outpatient Rheumatologist on-call :
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
EMERGENCY REFERRAL PROCESS
You MUST PAGE the Outpatient Rheumatologist ON-CALL to discuss.
EMERGENT REFERRALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IN TRIAGE. 
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
The following conditions are deemed EMERGENT (please PAGE the Rheumatologist on call) - the patient should be seen within 24 hours):
  • Temporal Arteritis (Giant Cell Arteritis)
  • Organ-threatening Vasculitis or Connective Tissue Disease
  • SLE Flare with organ damage
  • Urgent ED follow-up to facilitate discharge
  • Septic Joint - DIRECT PATIENT TO NEAREST EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
You MUST PAGE the Outpatient Rheumatologist ON-CALL to discuss.
EMERGENT REFERRALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IN TRIAGE. 
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
The following conditions are deemed EMERGENT (please PAGE the Rheumatologist on call) - the patient should be seen within 24 hours):
  • Temporal Arteritis (Giant Cell Arteritis)
  • Organ-threatening Vasculitis or Connective Tissue Disease
  • SLE Flare with organ damage
  • Urgent ED follow-up to facilitate discharge
  • Septic Joint - DIRECT PATIENT TO NEAREST EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
As per referral guidelines
As per referral guidelines
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
  • Communication of referral receipt to referral source will occur within 7 calendar days.
  • Communication of appointment details or wait list status to patient and referral source will occur within 14 calendar days.
  • Communication of initial appointment outcomes to referral source will occur within 30 calendar days.
ADDITIONAL SERVICE DETAILS
All routine, semi-urgent and urgent consults are managed through Rheumatology Central Access & Triage via: 1) directly through CONNECT CARE to "Calgary Zone Rheumatology CAT"or  2) FAX to Central Access & Triage at 403-955-8199. Referrals will be triaged and waitlisted accordingly.

Rheumatology CAT manages referrals for a number of different rheumatology clinics in the Calgary Zone;
  • Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic at Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Centre
  • Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic at South Health Campus
  • Private Rheumatology Practices in Calgary
Enhanced Gout Pathway
Peripheral Arthritis Pathway
Osteoarthritis Management
Fibromyalgia Management
If you feel the patient needs to be seen urgently or their condition worsens, please page the Rheumatologist On Call at: 
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.

All routine, semi-urgent and urgent consults are managed through Rheumatology Central Access & Triage via: 1) directly through CONNECT CARE to "Calgary Zone Rheumatology CAT"or  2) FAX to Central Access & Triage at 403-955-8199. Referrals will be triaged and waitlisted accordingly.

Rheumatology CAT manages referrals for a number of different rheumatology clinics in the Calgary Zone;
  • Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic at Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Centre
  • Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic at South Health Campus
  • Private Rheumatology Practices in Calgary
Enhanced Gout Pathway
Peripheral Arthritis Pathway
Osteoarthritis Management
Fibromyalgia Management
If you feel the patient needs to be seen urgently or their condition worsens, please page the Rheumatologist On Call at: 
  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.

 
CENTRAL ACCESS REFERRAL PHONE
403-955-8734
CENTRAL ACCESS REFERRAL FAX
403-955-8199
REFERRAL FORMS
REFERRAL RESOURCES
Specialist LINK
PATHWAYS
CENTRAL ACCESS LINKED SERVICES:
CLICK + TO VIEW REFERRAL GUIDELINES
+-
Routine Reason for Referral
Access Targets convey the clinically appropriate timeframe patients should be seen within, by reason for referral and priority level.
Access Target
Required Information/Investigations
Timing
Additional Details
+-
Autoimmune
Reason for Referral
 
Within 1 month
Detailed History to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
Physical Exam to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
Medication List (Dose, Frequency, Route)
 
Within 3 months
Describe symptoms; description of joints involved, swelling, pain, morning stiffness, duration
 
If applicable
Describe previous treatments and responses; specifically with Prednisone
 
If applicable
CBC, CRP, Cr, ALT, ALP, Albumin
 
Within 3 months
If patient previously seen by another Rheumatologist or other specialist, please include the name and consultation notes
 
If applicable
ANA, C3, C4, and Urinalysis
 
Within 3 months
+-
Inflammatory disorder
Reason for Referral
 
Within 1 month
Detailed History to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
Physical Exam to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
Medication List (Dose, Frequency, Route)
 
Within 3 months
Describe symptoms; description of joints involved, swelling, pain, morning stiffness, duration
 
If applicable
Describe previous treatments and responses; specifically with Prednisone
 
If applicable
CBC, CRP, Cr, ALT, ALP, Albumin
 
Within 3 months
If patient previously seen by another Rheumatologist or other specialist, please include the name and consultation notes
 
If applicable
RF and Anti CCP
 
Within 3 months
Urate
 
Within 3 months
X-Ray of SI Joints if Ankylosing Spondylitis is suspected
 
Within 3 months
Gout - Provide Urate and CRP in addition to required baseline blood work
AS - Provide X-Ray SI joints in addition to required baseline blood work

+-
Urgent Reason for Referral
Access Targets convey the clinically appropriate timeframe patients should be seen within, by reason for referral and priority level.
Access Target
Required Information/Investigations
Timing
Additional Details
+-
Arthritis
Describe symptoms; description of joints involved, swelling, pain, morning stiffness, duration
 
If applicable
Describe previous treatments and responses; specifically with Prednisone
 
If applicable
Reason for Referral
 
Within 1 month
Physical Exam to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
If patient previously seen by another Rheumatologist or other specialist, please include the name and consultation notes
 
If applicable
Detailed History to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
CBC, CRP, Cr, ALT, ALP and Albumin
 
Within 3 months
Medication List (Dose, Frequency, Route)
 
Within 3 months
RF, and Anti-CCP
 
Within 3 months
Inflammatory Arthritis WITH joint swelling
+-
Connective tissue disease
Describe symptoms; description of joints involved, swelling, pain, morning stiffness, duration
 
If applicable
Describe previous treatments and responses; specifically with Prednisone
 
If applicable
Reason for Referral
 
Within 1 month
Physical Exam to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
If patient previously seen by another Rheumatologist or other specialist, please include the name and consultation notes
 
If applicable
Detailed History to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
CBC, CRP, Cr, ALT, ALP and Albumin
 
Within 3 months
Medication List (Dose, Frequency, Route)
 
Within 3 months
ANA, C3, C4, and Urinalysis
 
Within 3 months
CTD that is NOT organ threatening
+-
Myositis
Describe symptoms; description of joints involved, swelling, pain, morning stiffness, duration
 
If applicable
Describe previous treatments and responses; specifically with Prednisone
 
If applicable
Reason for Referral
 
Within 1 month
Physical Exam to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
If patient previously seen by another Rheumatologist or other specialist, please include the name and consultation notes
 
If applicable
Detailed History to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
CBC, CRP, Cr, ALT, ALP and Albumin
 
Within 3 months
Medication List (Dose, Frequency, Route)
 
Within 3 months
CK
 
Within 3 months
+-
Vasculitis
Describe symptoms; description of joints involved, swelling, pain, morning stiffness, duration
 
If applicable
Describe previous treatments and responses; specifically with Prednisone
 
If applicable
Reason for Referral
 
Within 1 month
Physical Exam to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
If patient previously seen by another Rheumatologist or other specialist, please include the name and consultation notes
 
If applicable
Detailed History to support the Referral
 
Within 1 month
CBC, CRP, Cr, ALT, ALP and Albumin
 
Within 3 months
Medication List (Dose, Frequency, Route)
 
Within 3 months
ANA, Urinalysis and ANCA
 
Within 3 months
Active Vasculitis that is NOT organ threatening

+-
Emergent Reason for Referral
Additional Details
+-
Connective tissue disease
Aggressive organ-threatening Connective Tissue Disease (the patient should be seen within 24 hours).
Page the Rheumatologist on call at:  

  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.



+-
Systemic lupus erythematosus
SLE Flare with Organ Damage (patient should be seen within 24 hrs).
Page the Rheumatologist on call at:  

  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
+-
Systemic vasculitis
Organ-threatening Vasculitis (the patient should be seen within 24 hours).
Page the Rheumatologist on call at:  

  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.
+-
Temporal arteritis
Temporal Arteritis (Giant Cell Arteritis) (the patient should be seen within 24 hours).
Page the Rheumatologist on call at:  

  • Phone Specialist Link (during regular office hours): Ph 403-910-2551.
  • Phone the Rheumatologist on call (if AFTER business hours): Ph 403-944-1110.

The primary purpose of the All Locations list is to let the user easily access any location of a healthcare service without going back to the main search screen.

The locations listed have 3 background colors:
  • Green means the healthcare service@location has referral information attached to it.
  • Brown means the healthcare service@location never had referral information attached to it, or it has unpublished referral information.
  • Red means
    • IA changed the healthcare service@location's status to something other than Current
    • It was deleted if it is an ARD healthcare service@location.
Green  and Brown are always at the top of the list. These are the Healthcare Service@Locations with the status of Current.
The Red list at the bottom consists of non-current Healthcare Service@locations that once had Published referral information in the ARD.
If the referral information was never published in ARD the Healthcare Service@location will not show in the Red list.

The secondary purpose of the All Locations list is to allow ARD Administrators to recover (copy) referral information from the non-current Healthcare Service@Locations to ones that are current.

Common Scenario:
A Healthcare Service moves from one location to another. In this case the IA Healthcare Service@Location record will be made defunct (non-current) and a new Healthcare Service@Location record will be created with a current status. In this scenario the captured referral guidelines in ARD can become "orphaned" as they are not attached to any current IA healthcare service.

Categories of non-current or orphaned referral guidelines: INDIVIDUAL and COMMON.
The REFERRAL GUIDELINES section of the profile has the prefix INDIVIDUAL or COMMON to help you choose the method below when transferring referral guidelines from a non-current Healthcare Service@Location to a current healthcare service@location.

Individual referral process
  1. Click on a non-current (Red) Healthcare Service@Location at the bottom of the All Locations list.
  2. The non-current referral info is displayed with the link Copy this Referral Process to another Healthcare Service@Location link on the upper right hand corner. Click on the copy link.
  3. Choose a current location (Green or Brown) from the All Locations list. This will be the Healthcare Service@Location you are pasting the referral info into.
  4. The system will display the Edit Referral Info screen populated with the referral info from the non-current Healthcare Service@Location you viewed in the first step.
  5. Click Save and the referral info is transferred from the non-current Healthcare Service@Location to the current one.
  6. Repeat these steps for each Healthcare Service@Location that needs attention.

Common referral process - 2 sub cases.
Case 1: At least 1 current Healthcare Service@Location with common referral info is with current status for this healthcare service; One or more Healthcare Healthcare Service@Locations where replaced by new one.
  1. Click on any current Healthcare Service@Location whether it has referral info (Green) or not (Brown).
  2. The healthcare service location opens in the Edit Referral Info screen populated with the current common referral info.
  3. Save it. 
  4. All locations will be updated with the common referral information, including all the locations that don't have referral info yet (Brown). The non-current referrals (Red) will also be updated.
Case 2:  All Healthcare Healthcare Service@Locations for a healthcare service are set to a non-current status and replaced by new ones. In this case there is no current additional referral info to copy from, so the only alternative is to pick up the non-current common referral process (Red). Follow the steps described in the section Individual Referral Process above to copy/paste the non-current common referral info to the current healthcare service locations.
Generally we want to replicate current common referral info to new or replaced healthcare service locations. We only resort to copying non-current common referral info if there is no other option.

Remember: Some fields can be location specific with the common referral process:
Parking Instructions, Directions, Parking Map, Wait Time, Referral Phone or Referral Fax.
To update these items you have to edit each Healthcare Service@Location separately.

ADDITONAL NOTES:
  • The info icon after the All Locations drop down will be visible to ARD Administrators.
  • The system doesn't allow you to copy referral information from one non-current Healthcare Service@Location to another.

 

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