Referring a patient to Seen
Seen provides ADHD assessment, treatment and ongoing care by telehealth — one membership, one care team, with every clinical decision made by clinicians. Here’s how referrals work, for doctors and for patients.
Registering your practice ahead of patient referrals
We open the secure referral channel alongside clinical intake, so that every referral is received and actioned by a clinical team rather than sitting in a queue. Everything below is what a Seen referral needs, so yours is ready the day it opens. Register your practice and we’ll let you know first — meanwhile, your patients can begin directly at seen.org.au.
How to refer
A named referral is not required — address referrals “Dear Psychiatrist”. Please include your provider number and practice details.
A strong referral includes
- Relevant medical and mental-health history
- Current and past medications
- Family history of physical and mental-health conditions, where known
- Recent observations: blood pressure, pulse and weight
- Your provider number and practice details
Checks commonly requested
Before stimulant treatment can be considered, your patient’s clinician will commonly ask for:
- Blood pressure, pulse and weightRecent baseline observations.
- ECGBaseline cardiac screen before stimulant treatment is considered.
- BloodsFBC, EUC, LFT, TFT, B12/folate and iron studies.
Recent results are useful — tests completed within the last three months generally don’t need repeating. Your patient’s Seen clinician will confirm exactly what applies.
Where to send referrals
The secure referral channel is published here the day intake opens. Register your practice to be notified first.
Medicare rebates may be available for some eligible services depending on the service, the clinician, your referral and your individual circumstances. Your GP or Services Australia can confirm what applies to you. Seen membership fees themselves are not a Medicare service.
GP info sheet — view, print or save as PDFWhat to ask your GP for
Booking a standard GP appointment and reading out (or showing) the request below gets everything done in one visit — the referral and the routine checks.
Could I please have a referral for an ADHD assessment, addressed "Dear Psychiatrist"? Could it include my relevant medical and mental-health history, current and past medications, any family history of physical or mental-health conditions, and today's blood pressure, pulse and weight. Could we also arrange an ECG and bloods (FBC, EUC, LFT, TFT, B12/folate and iron studies), as these are commonly requested before stimulant treatment can be considered.
Two honest notes: a referral is not required to start with Seen — it helps with Medicare rebates for eligible specialist consultations and gives your clinician your history. And asking for these checks is preparation, not a promise: whether ADHD fits, and whether medication forms part of treatment, are decisions your clinician makes with you after proper assessment.
Referral questions, answered plainly
Is a referral required to join Seen?
No — anyone can start with the eligibility check. A GP referral matters for two other reasons: Medicare rebates for eligible specialist consultations usually require one, and it gives your Seen clinician your history from day one. We’ll always tell you when a referral would help and exactly what to ask for.
Does Seen accept every referral?
No. Suitability is a clinical decision — some presentations need a level of psychiatric care or crisis support that a telehealth membership can’t safely provide, and we’d rather say that up front than accept a referral we can’t serve properly. Where Seen isn’t the right fit, we say so and point to a better pathway.
Do you provide Medicare item 291 assessments?
Not currently.
How long is a referral valid, and do tests need repeating?
Standard GP referrals to a specialist are typically valid for 12 months. Test results from the last three months generally don’t need repeating — your patient’s Seen clinician confirms exactly what applies.
Which states can patients be referred from?
Available across Australia by telehealth. The eligibility check confirms availability for a patient’s state before anything else happens.
Seen is not an emergency or crisis service. If a patient needs urgent care, contact your local mental-health triage service, call 000, or Lifeline on 13 11 14.