OpenBeds Open Referral Statuses

The referral statuses within the OpenBeds platform allow you to more accurately and effectively track your organization's open referral progress and manage capacity. 

In this article:

• Open Referral Statuses
• Updating the Referral Status
• FAQs

Open Referral Statuses

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Using referral statuses helps your organization streamline workflows related to referral progress and manage capacity more effectively across our network. There are four statuses you can choose from to indicate the stage of open referrals:
 

1. [NEW] Pending: Pending means you’ve received the referral and are still reviewing it before deciding whether to accept or decline, or waitlist (if you have this enabled for your state). 
    
2. [NEW] Waitlisted: This status allows providers to accept referrals even when capacity is unavailable at the moment, enabling better coordination and future placement without breaking the workflow. With this new status addition, you will be required to indicate the 'Anticipated Availability' date to estimate when a client will come off the waitlist. 
    
   • These new statuses introduce more accurate ways to track referral progress and manage capacity. Previously, users only had the options of Open/New, Accepted, or Declined, which led to workarounds.This update supports more proactive capacity management and sets the foundation for structured waitlist workflows in OpenBeds.
      
3. Accepted: The referral has been accepted and patient consent has been obtained. With our recent update, you will be able to capture a client's appointment or intake date for the service using the new 'Scheduled Date' modal. 
    
4. Declined: The referral has been declined. When selecting this status, you are required to enter the primary reason for the decline, and specific reason for the decline. 

Referral Request Status Page Definitions

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• Open= this is a new referral that is marked as Open on both the Referring and Receiving sides.

• Pending= this referral has been moved to the Pending status by the Receiving entity, as they are still reviewing it before deciding whether to accept or decline.

• Accepted= this referral has been moved to Accepted status by the Receiving entity. The client may not have showed yet and it is not yet ready to be marked as Done/completed.

• Done = this referral has been moved to Accepted status by the Receiving entity and has been closed out. Both the Referring and Receiving entities no longer need to take any action for this referral.

• Accepted Elsewhere and Open = this referral is part of a multi-referral, and one of the referrals was Accepted BUT not yet closed out/marked as Done.

• Accepted Elsewhere and Done = this referral is part of a multi-referral, and one of the referrals was Accepted AND was closed out/marked as Done.

• Declined = the referral has been declined and marked as done/completed so no further action is needed unless the user would like to reopen the Declined referral and mark it as Pending.

• Referral Closed = the Referring entity closed out the referral on their end as the client no longer wished to receive service. 

Updating the Referral Status

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To update the status for open referrals, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Click Open to the right of the Referral request
2. Select one of the 4 statuses: Pending, Waitlisted, Accepted, Declined
    
   • By selecting Pending, the status on the referral request will update to 'Referral Pending'
      
   • When clicking the Waitlisted status, a modal will appear that requires you to enter the Anticipated Availability date and enables you to provide the waitlist reason. Once completed, click Waitlist. The referral request page will now reflect the 'Referral waitlisted' status. 
      
     • You will also see an optional text box section that allows additional context to be added for that client and this message will be displayed in the messaging section. 
        
   • After selecting Accepted, you can now indicate the date the client actually came in using the new Scheduled date and if they showed. Once you're done with the referral follow the steps outlined below:
      
     1. Click the Accepted button at the top right of the referral request and select Done
     2. A new modal will appear, simply indicate if patient consent was received and any additional details you would like documented.
     3. Click Done
        • The referral request will now show 'Client showed' and a new message will be sent to the requesting organization. 
           
   • When selecting the Declined status, you’re required to indicate both the primary and specific reasons for the decline. You can also provide additional context in the free text box. Once you click Done, the referral request will be marked as 'Referral Declined,' and a message will be sent to the requesting organization.
      
     • With our most recent update, we now allow you to reopen any previously declined requests. To do so, follow the steps below:
        
       1. Click on the Done button at the top right of the referral request
       2. Select Reopen and move to pending
       3. Once selected, a popup will appear that allows to share any necessary information
       4. After you click Save, the request will now reflect the 'Referral pending' status
           
   • You’ll receive email notifications for any status changes made to your referrals. Our latest enhancement also allows you to move a referral 'backward', for example, changing the status from Waitlisted to Pending to better reflect real-world workflow flexibility.

FAQs

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1. Can I skip Pending and go straight to Accepted or Declined?

   Yes, if you’re ready to make a decision immediately. But Pending is recommended if you need to review details or coordinate internally before deciding.

2. If I mark a referral as Waitlisted, can I later accept or decline it?

   Yes. Waitlisted referrals stay visible in your queue so you can Accept them when it’s time for the client to come in for their service. Waitlisted referrals can also be moved to Declined if the service can no longer help the client. Moving the referral back to Pending is another option if the service needs to re-evaluate their decision to waitlist the client as well.

3. What happens if the Anticipated Availability is exceeded for referrals marked as Waitlisted?

   If the Anticipated Availability date is exceeded for Waitlisted referrals, the referral will be flagged as overdue. You can update the date at any time.

4. Will the Referring organization see when I mark a referral as Pending or Waitlisted?

   Yes. These statuses are visible to the Referring org and help reduce uncertainty around referral status.

5. Is using Pending or Waitlisted required?

   While not mandatory, using these statuses appropriately improves coordination, reduces premature Accepts, and keeps the queue organized, especially for teams managing high referral volume.

6. In a multi-referral, what happens if a referral is Accepted but another service has their referral on Waitlisted?

   If a service accepts the referral, it would change the Waitlisted status to Accepted Elsewhere.

7. Are there time limits to the Pending and Waitlisted statuses?

   There may be limits set up for Pending (typically 24 hours). Check with your State Administrator for the exact timing. There are no time limits for Waitlisted at this time.