Early Intervention Referral Information, Transmission, and Sources-A Survey of State Part C Coordinators and Analysis of Referral Forms.
Benjamin W Sanders, Katharine E Zuckerman, Joan S Ash and 3 others
PMID 34538858WHAT IT FOUND
State Early Intervention referral forms vary widely, with healthcare settings sending the most referrals but only 25% of forms explicitly targeting providers.
Parents remain a major source, yet few forms are translated. Clinicians should verify local referral pathways, as electronic data exchange between health and education systems is rare.
Key findings
01Healthcare settings are the largest source of Early Intervention referrals (mean 44%), followed by parents and family members (30%).
02Only 25% of statewide referral forms explicitly identify healthcare providers as the intended user, while 50% do not specify who should use them.
03Most state Early Intervention data systems cannot use standard health information exchange protocols like HL7 or FHIR, limiting direct electronic referral integration with medical records.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional and cannot determine cause and effect. It surveyed state coordinators but not frontline staff or families. Referral method data were estimates because many agencies do not systematically track how referrals arrive. Only 36 of 52 states had accessible statewide forms, so some practices are missing.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that electronic referral systems are widely integrated or that forms are designed for clinician use. Most states lack direct EHR-to-agency connections, and half of the forms do not specify who should complete them, so clinicians must manually verify local procedures.