ARMs frequently asked questions
Q. I do not have Internet access in my office. Can I still refer a patient?
A. Yes, you can still refer patients to SickKids for specialty care using your fax. We will continue to accept fax referrals until all referring professionals transfer to the online system.
Q. Assistants often complete the referral forms. Can they continue to do this?
A. Yes, assistants can continue to complete the forms. There are areas in the system, the guideline page and just before submission where the form can be printed for you to provide the information or to review before submission.
Q. Do I need to view the referral guidelines before sending in a referral?
A. The referral guidelines provide you with information for the problem that you are referring to SickKids. They provide information regarding patient criteria, who may refer, what you can do or send to help the staff at SickKids in determining the appropriate care for the child, and, if the patient does not meet the criteria, what alternatives are available to you.
Q. How do I submit supporting documentation (i.e. ECG, CT Scan, etc.)?
A. You can fax or mail any required supporting documentation. Directions on how to do this, including the appropriate mailing address, can be found on the last page of the online referral form, entitled Referral Submitted - Attach Supporting Documentation.
Q. What do I do if a patient needs to be seen urgently (i.e. within 24 hours)?
A. Urgent referrals should be made to the appropriate clinic by phone.
Q. How will I know if you have received my referral?
A. You will receive automated faxes from the clinic to let you know when the referral has been received and is under review, whether your referral has been redirected and to whom, and when the patient has been booked for an appointment.
Q. If the system is down, whom do I contact if I need to refer a patient?
A. You can contact the clinic directly by phone or, if you have submitted a referral, it will be kept in queue for the clinic until the system is back up.
Q. I cannot log in to the external form. I have entered the correct username and password but I am continually redirected back to the login page. What do I do?
A. You will need to enable the cookies on your computer. To enable cookies in Internet Explorer:
1. Click on Tools --> Internet Options within Internet Explorer.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Move slider to "Medium High" or lower.
4. Click on OK.
To enable cookies in Netscape:
1. Click on Edit --> Preferences in Netscape.
2. Expand "Privacy & Security"
3. Select "Cookies"
4. Click on a radio button other than Disable cookies (eg, "Enable cookies for the originating Web site only")
5. Click on OK.
Q. Where can I get a referral form to complete?
A. To complete a referral, simply visit the SickKids Web site (www.sickkids.ca). In the upper right hand corner is the heading “Health-care professionals and students” click on that link and scroll down to “referring a patient’ or on the left of the page you will see ‘referring a patient’ click and follow the instructions, or visit How To make a referral
Q. What if I am not sure what clinic I need?
A. There is a search function that enables you to type in the problem. It will bring forward all the clinics that deal with that issues, and from there you can review the specific guidelines before proceeding.
Q. Why can’t I get an automated e-mail response instead of a fax?
A. At some point we hope to be able to provide automated e-mail responses, but for the time being, given current technological constraints and the need for confidentiality, we are limited to faxes.