eReferral CoP Session #9

On June 11, 2026, the eReferral Community of Practice (CoP) met to discuss eReferral data, metrics, and reporting, with presentations from Alberta and Ontario on how referral data supports planning, adoption, evaluation, and health system improvement.

Insights

The discussion highlighted the following themes that collectively define what a strong, patient-centred eReferral experience should look like.

Key Discussion Points

• Alberta shared how referral data is used to support triage, referral quality improvement, wait time monitoring, clinician participation, and operational planning.
• Ontario highlighted how utilization, adoption, patient experience, and workflow data are used to guide deployment, evaluation, and provincial reporting.
• Participants discussed the role of transparency, patient notifications, and referral status visibility in improving the patient referral experience.
• Interactive discussions examined the metrics that matter most for provincial planning, including wait times, referral volumes, clinician adoption, referral completeness, and geographic variation.

Insights

• Wait times remain the most valued metric, but participants agreed they are also among the most difficult to measure consistently due to data quality, workflow variation, and incomplete data return.
• Data requires context to be meaningful. Adoption, utilization, and performance metrics must be interpreted alongside qualitative feedback and local circumstances to support informed decision making.
• Standardization and interoperability are foundational to improving data quality, reporting consistency, and visibility across the referral journey.
• Trust, transparency, and ongoing engagement drive adoption. Sustainable improvement relies on strong relationships with clinicians, referral coordinators, patients, and system partners.

Questions?

Complete this submission form and a member of the eReferral CoP will respond as soon as possible. Note: Some questions may require discussion and will be presented at a future quarterly eReferral CoP meeting. If you are just looking to stay informed on the eReferral CoP meeting topic, an update will be available following each quarterly session.