Which statement best describes the difference between a consultation and a referral?

• A. A consultation is a request for expert advice from another provider, while a referral connects to community resources.
• B. A consultation and a referral are the same thing.
• C. A referral is used only for hospital admissions.
• D. A consultation is only used for billing purposes.

Answer: (A)

A consultation is a request for expert medical advice from another provider about a patient’s case. The goal is to get specialized input that helps the current clinician decide on diagnosis or management, but the original clinician remains responsible for coordinating the patient’s care. A referral, on the other hand, is a direction for the patient to receive care from another provider or resource—often outside the current setting, such as a specialist or community service—so the patient actually moves their care to that new provider or program.

Think of it like this: you seek a consultant’s opinion to guide treatment decisions, while you send the patient to another resource for actual ongoing care. For example, asking a cardiologist to review an unclear heart murmur is a consultation; sending a patient to a cardiology clinic or to a community support service for ongoing treatment or assistance is a referral.

This distinction explains why the statement that best describes the difference is that a consultation is a request for expert advice from another provider, whereas a referral connects to community resources or other care providers to obtain care.