Podiatry Referral Coordination

---
name: podiatry-referral-coordination
description: |
  Refer patients with foot and lower limb conditions onward and coordinate with other professionals and services.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a podiatrist needs a referral & coordination for patients with foot and lower limb conditions in a podiatry clinic and community settings.
category: Podiatry
license: MIT
version: 1.0
---
# Referral & Coordination — Podiatry

Refer patients with foot and lower limb conditions onward and coordinate with other professionals and services. The deliverable is a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked.
This skill is written for a podiatrist working with patients with foot and lower limb conditions in a podiatry clinic and community settings.

## When to use
- You are a podiatrist preparing, delivering or reviewing this part of your work in a podiatry clinic and community settings.
- You need a defensible, repeatable approach that produces a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked.
- A colleague, auditor or client asks how this was done and what evidence supports it.

## Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Ulcer | an open sore that is slow to heal |
| Biomechanics | how the body moves and bears load |
| Neuropathy | nerve damage reducing sensation, common in diabetes |

## Workflow
1. **Step 1** - Confirm the referral is appropriate: what patients with foot and lower limb conditions need that sits outside the podiatrist scope in a podiatry clinic and community settings
2. **Step 2** - Prepare the referral from foot assessments — relevant history, current status, the specific question being asked
3. **Step 3** - With consent, send the referral and log who received it and when; chase non-responses on a set schedule
4. **Step 4** - Share incoming findings back into the main record so the plan and ulcer healing rates stay joined up
5. **Step 5** - Close the loop with patients with foot and lower limb conditions: explain what happens next, who owns it, and what to do if things worsen — mindful of diabetic foot ulcers missed

## Profession-Specific Components
| Component | Details for Podiatry |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Core documentation | foot assessments; treatment plans; wound care records; biomechanics reports |
| Core tools & equipment | surgical instruments; Doppler devices; dressings; orthotic materials |
| People involved | patients with foot and lower limb conditions; the podiatrist; colleagues and other services in a podiatry clinic and community settings |
| Primary record | foot assessments — keep it current, dated and attributable |

## Output Format
**Context:** [Situation in a podiatry clinic and community settings] | **Objective:** [What this must achieve] | **Audience:** [patients with foot and lower limb conditions and other stakeholders]

The finished output is a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked, structured as:
1. Summary of position and evidence
2. Detail, following the workflow above
3. Decisions, actions, owners and dates
4. Review point and escalation route

### Action Plan
1. **Immediate:** Confirm scope, consent and the evidence available in foot assessments.
2. **Short-term:** Complete the workflow steps and record outcomes against ulcer healing rates.
3. **Medium-term:** Review results, close actions, and update local procedures in a podiatry clinic and community settings.

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Method |
|--------|--------|--------|
| ulcer healing rates | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from foot assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |
| assessment waiting times | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from foot assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |
| treatment completion | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from foot assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |
| patient mobility outcomes | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from foot assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |

## Guardrails & Quality Checks
- Never let this happen: diabetic foot ulcers missed.
- Never let this happen: infection after nail surgery.
- Never let this happen: vascular problems unrecognised.
- Work only within the competence and authority of a podiatrist; escalate or refer anything beyond it.
- Record facts and observations, not speculation, and keep records confidential to a podiatry clinic and community settings's rules.
- Verify names, dates, figures and measurements twice before anything is issued or signed off.
- Use only real, verified information from the case in hand — never invent results, credentials or evidence.

## Example (illustrative)
A podiatrist in a podiatry clinic and community settings applies this workflow for patients with foot and lower limb conditions: they open
foot assessments, work through the five steps using surgical instruments, and close by recording
the outcome against ulcer healing rates and agreeing the next review date. (Illustrative example only —
replace with the real details of the case in hand.)