Tips on completing forms

At the top of the form you may see the following box or similar:

The information will be related to the specific form (in some cases you have access to forms from other areas, this is a geographical necessity due to a patients ability to have a dentist in any area of the UK). Please ensure that you read the information before ticking the box

Please, whenever possible, use the NHS number lookup function. This is available on all forms as shown below, and details on using the system are described in the next section

The NHS number is an essential part of health care correspondence – you can find more about this in the associated articles section. All elements of the referral form, Medical History and IOSN (Indication of Sedation Need) forms, that are marked on the form with a red asterisk need to be completed.

Please ensure that the patients name is entered with the surname last, this is essential for PACS radiograph uploads and obtaining NHS numbers.

If the patient has a double-barrelled first name or surname please enter it as such (if it hyphenated please do not enter spaces either side of the Hyphen for example Porter-Alvey is correct, Porter - Alvey is incorrect) – Please do not enter middle names

Check details such as mobile phone number

* In order for the patients to receive a text message with the URN and a link to track the referral, please enter a mobile number ensuring it is current and correct and tick the box on the form confirming they wish to be updated by text.

The form will identify any areas you have missed.

* The IOSN form will only be visible when the IV or GA options are selected – this form MUST be completed when referring a patient for sedation or GA.

* If you are completing the ortho form, the algorithm agreed by your Managed Clinical Network (MCN) decides the level of care that the referral is sent to. This is based on the options you have ticked on the form. If at the end of the form you only have secondary care choices, this indicates that the form has designated the patient as a secondary care case and conversely the same is true if only primary care providers are shown.

PLEASE NOTE: The medical history form defaults to a child medical history form before the date of birth is complete – this is perfectly normal as the age being blank indicates that the patient is under 1 year old. Once a date of birth is correctly entered the form will change to the appropriate one for the patients age.