Referral to emergency

If any of the following are present or suspected, please refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary) or seek emergent medical advice if in a remote region.

  • cardiac arrhythmia
  • concurrent hypokalaemia
  • corrected serum calcium less than 1.8 mmol/l
  • ionised calcium less than 0.9 mmol/l
  • seizures

Consult the on-call endocrine registrar for guidance in presentations with concerning features.

For clinical advice, please telephone the relevant specialty service.

Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network 

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Category 1 - appointment clinically indicated within 30 days

  • symptomatic hypocalcaemia
    • tetany, cramps, paraesthesia
  • symptomatic hypoparathyroidism

Category 2 — appointment clinically indicated within 90 days

  • asymptomatic hypocalcaemia in known hypoparathyroidism

Category 3 — appointment clinically indicated within 365 days

  • nil

Essential referral information

Completion required before first appointment to ensure patients are ready for care. Please indicate in the referral if the patient is unable to access mandatory tests or investigations as they incur a cost or are unavailable locally.

  • past medical/surgical history, including previous neck surgery
  • current medications and dosages including:
    • previous drug therapy e.g. bisphosphonates, denosumab, phenytoin
  • use/frequency of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
  • allergies and sensitivities
  • onset, duration, and progression of symptoms
  • management history including treatments trialled/implemented prior to referral
  • physical examination
  • height/weight
  • body mass index (BMI)
  • electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • relevant diagnostic/imaging reports, including location of company and accession number

Pathology

  • urea, electrolyte, and creatinine (UEC)
  • estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
  • plasma calcium (total and ionised)
  • albumin
  • phosphate (PO4)
  • vitamin D 25-OH
  • magnesium (Mg)
  • alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
  • serum parathyroid hormone (PTH)

Clinical management advice

Confirm the presence of hypocalcaemia through the use of corrected or ionized serum calcium. Frequent reasons for authentic hypocalcaemia encompass hypoparathyroidism, certain medications (including those recently taken, such as denosumab), severe malnourishment, and alcohol consumption. Evaluate serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels.

Consider addressing deficiencies in 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH) and/or magnesium through replacement therapies. Initiate treatment involving calcium and calcitriol if symptomatic, and consult the on-call registrar for guidance.

Please ensure that recent pathology results are available. Consider providing the patient with a repeat pathology form at the time of referral.

Patients who have previously received care from a specialist should be encouraged to return to their care for additional assessment if needed.

Referrals are subject to the evaluation of the triaging clinician. If you believe your patient necessitates specialist assessment but may not meet the provided criteria, feel free to connect with the specialist team to discuss your concerns.

Clinical resources

Consumer resources

Reason for request

  • to establish a diagnosis
  • for treatment or intervention
  • for advice and management
  • for specialist to take over management
  • for a specified test/investigation the General Practitioner cannot order
  • for other reason (e.g. rapidly accelerating disease progression)
  • transfer of care from another tertiary service
  • clinical judgement indicates a referral for specialist review is necessary.

Patient demographic details

  • full name, including aliases
  • date of birth
  • residential and postal address
  • telephone contact number/s – home, mobile and alternative
  • Medicare number, where eligible
  • name of the parent or caregiver, if appropriate
  • preferred language and interpreter requirements
  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Clinical modifiers

  • impact on employment
  • impact on education
  • impact on home
  • impact on activities of daily living
  • impact on ability to care for others
  • impact on personal frailty or safety
  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Other relevant information

  • Willingness to have surgery, where surgery is a likely intervention.
  • Choice to be treated as a public or private patient.
  • Compensable status, e.g. DVA, Work Cover, Motor Vehicle Insurance, etc.
  • Relevant social history, including identifying if you feel your patient is from a vulnerable population, under guardianship/out-of-home care arrangements and/or requires a third party to receive correspondence on their behalf.
  • Triage of a specialist outpatient referral is based on clinical decision making to allocate an appropriate urgency categorisation.
  • Where appropriate and where available, the referral may be streamed to an associated public allied health and/or nursing service. Access to some specific services may include initial assessment and management by associated public allied health and/or nursing, which may either facilitate or negate the need to see the public medical specialist.
  • A change in patient circumstance (such as condition deteriorating or pregnancy) may affect the urgency categorisation and should be communicated as soon as possible.
  • All new referrals will be triaged by a consultant and appointment times scheduled according to clinical urgency.