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Fax the program's own referral form to its published referral fax line, one referral per fax, with the patient's consent to the referral documented. Programs like CAMH in Toronto explicitly ask for one referral per fax so each one can be triaged cleanly. Expect the reply by fax or phone in a week or two, and confirm receipt if you hear nothing.
Because triage teams process referrals against fixed criteria: diagnosis or presenting problem, risk level, current services, and what the referral is actually asking for. The program's form asks for exactly those fields. A free-text letter forces a triage worker to hunt through paragraphs for the same information, and a referral that buries the risk assessment gets delayed while someone calls back for clarification. CAMH publishes program-specific referral forms and a central fax line, and its guidance is blunt: fax each referral individually so nothing gets mixed together.
| Item | Why triage needs it |
|---|---|
| The program's referral form, fully filled | Matching the form to the program routes it to the right team |
| Reason for referral and presenting concerns | Decides urgency and which program fits |
| Risk information | Safety planning and priority; never leave this blank |
| Consent to the referral | The program must know the patient agreed to be referred |
| Relevant history and current providers | Avoids duplicating services the patient already has |
| Interpreter or accessibility needs | Lets intake book the right resources for the first contact |
Get the patient's agreement to the referral before faxing anything, and note the consent on the form. Mental health information is sensitive, so treat the fax number like an address: verify it against the program's own website, never a number from memory or a forwarded email. Programs that take referrals from family members or self-referrals still need the patient's permission to share clinical details, and some will only discuss the referral with the patient directly. In the US, HIPAA permits sharing for treatment purposes, but many programs ask for a signed release anyway as a matter of policy: check the form.
The referral enters a triage queue. A one-to-two-week wait for a response is normal for routine referrals; urgent referrals move faster. If you hear nothing after two weeks, call the program's referral line and ask for the referral's status. Have the fax confirmation and the date you sent it ready: "I faxed the referral on Tuesday" is a starting point, but the confirmation with the receiving number and timestamp lets intake staff trace it. For the referring side, tell the patient roughly when to expect contact so they do not miss the program's call.
LetterAgent sends faxes by request to your AI assistant, to US and Canadian fax numbers, with a per-fax quote, the page count verified, and one payment before anything is sent. Fax is available in testing while activation is in progress, so it is described as in testing rather than promised to send today. Referral faxes carry sensitive health information, so double-check the receiving number before anything is sent, and confirm the program received it.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
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